The World Within And Without
by Sheo Darren
Summary: Crack crossover fic. Calendar Arc. Attack. Counterattack. Counter counterattack. The battle has only begun. The killing is just about to start. Chapter 39. Counterattack
1. The Way Things Shouldn't Start

**Previously in _The__ Wedding Night 2…_**

****_She touched the picture on her table with fondness and murmured, "I'll be back soon, I promise."_

_Then Yuuki left with Loki in tow. The door closed. The light turned off. The picture was left all alone._

_But she didn't leave, not at all._

_We never do._

_            The picture stands alone on the desk, but not forgotten._

_It is of Sheo Darren._

_                                                                                *         *         *_

_            Lost in the depths of eternity, she stirs for a moment. Awoken for a fleeting second, she remembers her life and her duty, one and the same, dedicated to one young man. Her world and existence revolved around him. She had eyes and ears and heart and mind and soul only for him._

"My Master… Sheo Darren…"

_But for a while longer, she sleeps._

_Sigil Armitage sleeps._

_                                                                                *         *         *_

_            "Arise, ye beloved who sleeps. A new world awaits you. A new saga beckons._

_"The eternal journey begins once more._

_"Awaken, Journeyman."_

_Sylphe__ Phenomena Eternal opens her eyes._

_"Awaken, Sheo Darren."_

_                                                                                *         *         *_

_            So far away, a heart beats._

_Eyes open into the light._

_He awakes._

**The End… But Also A Beginning…**

**Chapter Double Zero: The Prologue**

**The Way Things _Shouldn't_ Start…**

           Yuuki Darren –this world's version of _Guilty Gear_'s That Man, reformed former semi-evil anti-hero who messed up _The Wedding Night 2_ pretty bad until she realized the meaning in her life and thus fought on the side of good, official 'daughter' of the author who conceived and wrote this story, and current overseer of this world– sighed cutely as she tipped her glasses up her nose.

"I hate paperwork."

Yes. Paperwork: The unexpected by-product of the well-intentioned ideas behind bureaucracy by the long-dead Ottoman Empire. Where there was bureaucracy, there was paperwork, just as there were rabid fan girls for every _bishounen_ who existed in the world. It was as natural and expected as to see bumblebees and dragons flying, the way paperwork would insidiously rise out of nowhere to suddenly engulf you in its maw of doom. Adults with jobs fear it. Adults _without_ jobs thank the stars that they need not worry about it– until the next IRS receipt arrives. Students graduating from college have nightmares about it.

A great evil, indeed, it had kept Yuuki busy trying to keep it to a minimum. You could never truly eliminate paperwork; you could only tune it down to a bearable level as much as you can.

The last few months had seen her very busy indeed. Only a short time after she had died in battle with Sho Tsuzuku and been brought back to life, That Girl had led efforts towards the renewal of the world. Backed up by the _Guilty Gear _fighters and the harem of her creator, Yuuki had worked tirelessly in order to right all the wrongs wrought by _The Wedding Night, _not to mention during the twenty episodes of _The Wedding Night 2_. At first feared and rejected by many due her previous reputation as a villain, she had finally achieved acceptance through her unceasing pursuit of her new life and objectives.

Barely three months into reconstruction, Zofeah's _Revolution_ landed upon them like the biblical guest who arrives at the time least expected and with the force of a Florida typhoon. Yuuki had at first observed the tournament with distant interest, preoccupied with work as she was. But when NESTS and likewise terrorist/crime groups resurfaced and the Bureau of Management's agents and armies appeared, and especially after disturbing reports during _Revolution_ –disruptions in Timespace due to forbidden Chrono magic courtesy Kokurabuji Hikki, new arrivals from cyberspare like Zero, and research upon the nature of Zofeah and Lone Wolf SIX– That Girl personally investigated and fought in the tournament itself. With the aid of Lone Wolf, Loki, the harem girls, and a little piece of her creator named Rheo Farren, Yuuki had averted the impending Armageddon and saved the world again.

To top it all off, she actually had _fun_ during _Revolution._ Not everyday did she get to kick ass as royally as she did during her battles there.

Unfortunately, the paperwork had increased in her absence.

It was as if the damned thing was alive, capable of multiplying like rabbits, knew that multiplying itself would annoy her, and thus did so in order to spite her. Yuuki sometimes wondered if the P4 or Sho Tsuzuku or a similar evil lingered within the world through the guise of paperwork, its evil presence was so prevalent in her life. _Probably not,_ she seriously thought, since the villains in question wouldn't have stuck to mere annoying trifles, preferring disruption/domination/destruction on a worldwide scale instead of being confined to just one single office room_._

_At least the air conditioning here works now_.

When Yuuki had first bought and brought it here, the place had been very incomplete. Among its lack of amenities were comfortable furniture, hot water, air conditioning, cable TV and internet, pest control –the swarms of rats were gone, but the hideous memories they engendered still lingered in a few places– and many other facilities and services that made life comfortable for its occupants. She'd had only a short time to tend it before events had overwhelmed and forced her to set home repairs aside in order to fight for her very life. The Ultrasaurus' bombardment attack had not helped at all, either, but 16-inch high explosive artillery shells and homesteads had never ever reached an agreement.

But one year had passed since it first came, and lots of things had been done about its shortcomings. Refitted for luxuriantly comfy human habitation, its formidable installment of defensive weapons and sensor suites now fully upgraded and online, it was much changed from both its original conception as the greatest superweapon in the universe and its previous incarnation as a "second-hand last-minute closing time 50%-off sales bargain shopping item' from Virra Mall while a fire was merrily burning down the entire place" which happened to actually be a swindle of sorts. It was, to the multitude of girls and the single Filipino action hero madman who inhabited it, 'home'.

Now, when people looked up at the sky now, there were two moons.

One of them was good old Luna, the moon of old.

The other was the Death Star, which watched over the world within and without...

                                                                                *         *         *

           Ky Kiske reverently laid the bouquet of flowers at Kuradoberi Jam's grave. A hand reached out to gently caress the smooth marble of the tombstone, as if recapturing the feel of the late Chinese waitres/cook with this action.

Behind him was Son Goku of _Saiyuki_, suppressing his tears but not his sadness. As promised, he had done his part to avenge his friend's death through fighting in the _Revolution_ tournament. Now he paid his respects once more to her.

Aside, Dizzy had already done the same for Testament. Hotaru was with her; Rock was a respectful distance from them, knowing their need for privacy, generously giving it to them.

The cemetery garden was quiet. It was at peace, just as the souls of those two beloved within were also at peace.

Ky smiled faintly as he stood up to go. "I'll see you again some day, Miss Jam. Until then, my prayers –and my heart– go with you wherever you are. Always…"

                                                                                *         *         *

           Anji Mito was nervous.

Beside him, the nerves of Chipp Zanuff –no one was calling him Zanuff Chipp despite his best efforts at persuasion–had been so frayed the past two hours or so that he tended to jump whenever there was the slightest noise or movement around him. Since he had triple jump ability, that usually meant that his head smacked into the ceiling, knocking him out for a few blessed minutes before Chii would wake him up and unwittingly return him to their horror.

In addition there was Higashi Joe with his girlfriend Lilly Kane– and Lilly's overprotective big brother, feared stick fighter Billy Kane, glowering at the Muay Thai fighter with good reason. That is, when they weren't cringing.

The two Japanese, one Brit and one American wannabe-Japanese had been cringing all the while throughout the entire length of the operation. The screams of pain from within the room –not to mention the curse words in both Japanese and English, various death threats, and sounds of violence and scuffling from within the delivery room– scared the three hardened fighters like nothing had ever scared them before. In marked difference to them, Lily was very calm and serene.

As for Chii? She was asking in her innocent way, "Why is Baiken-_nee-san_ screaming like that?"

Finally, the horror ended as the doctor came out of the delivery room.

Then again, considering that Faust was the doctor in question…

Okay: The horror might not be over yet.

"Congratulations, Mister Mito– or is it Mister Seishino, considering that some Japanese men take the last names of their wives as their last name per tradition?" Anyway, Faust flashed a V-sign with two fingers; if it weren't for his paper bag mask, they'd have all seen the grotesque but well-meaning smile plastered all across his face. "You are now a father!"

Anji fainted.

                                                                                *         *         *

           Sol Badguy lit a Marlboro with _Fuenken_ and took in one long deep breath, faintly smiling in a rough handsome way with pleasure as he enjoyed the deliciously addictive taste of his smoke–

–Before a smiling energetic brunette swatted the cigarette out of his mouth with a kitty backpack and into oblivion.

"Sol-_kun_! Smoking is bad for your health!"

The greatest fan of Queen suppressed his usual protest consisting of a swear word and the word 'you' and settled for letting his breath and what remained of the smoke in his guts out of his gritted teeth. Instead, he looked at the girl who was the greatest fan of Queen's greatest fan (displacing both Justine Harrier and Asamiya Athena for possession that title) and said:

"I wanted a smoke, that's all."

"But it's bad for your health!"

"I'm a Gear. I'm immune to disease, poison, age, any kind of degeneration of my body, fire, very resistant to radiation and injury, and can regenerate faster than Wolverine can. Smoking won't harm me."

Kagura pouted. "What about me?" she petulantly asked.

'What about– oh, fine." Sol shook his head and gave up. He'd learnt a year ago that the girl from _Fruit's Basket_ could be very bulldog-like in determination and had a way of getting what she wanted from him despite his best efforts. "I'll stop smoking when you're around."

"That's better." She smiled at him in her shy happy way, and he felt somewhat compensated for his 'sacrifice', though he'd never admit it.

"I can't even get a cigarette break when I want to." Grumbling, Sol Badguy walked off into the sunset, Kagura in devoted tow.__

                                                                                *         *         *

            "Hey, 'Tine?"

"Yeah, 'Thena?"

"Can you explain again what got us into this situation?"

"We were just looking for fun, right?"

"Right."

"Hey, it isn't _my_ fault we got into this mess…"

"Are you implying _I_ got us into this mess?"

"No."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

The two girls who were not really girls were surrounded by an army of Teletubbies, Barneys, Blues (from Blue's Clues), Muppets from 'Sesame Street' and 'Muppets Tonight!', South Park characters, Beanie Babies, a talking moon, a bear who lived in a big blue house, the big blue house itself (the last three from Bear In The Big Blue House), and the fearsome stuffed keychain toy of Kiel Granada that was called 'Poopy' who held them all under its evil smelly aura's sway.

"Poopy?" Asamiya Athena wondered aloud, even as she wrinkled her nose at Poopy's smell.

"Spelled as 'puppy', pronounced way wrong," advised Justine Harrier, who quietly agreed with her friend that the monster deserved its owner's moniker. 

"I wonder if they can spell the word 'trouble'?"

"Let's see, shall we?"

Both girls grinned.

"ANGEL LASER: GAMMA RAY MOD ONE!"

"HYPER PSYCO-BALL!"

                                                                                *         *         *

           Two figures stood out in the moonlight, holding hands like newly-met dates, their hearts beating as one, their souls linked inexplicably and inextricably by Fate who had bound them together by way of Her Handmaidens' mysteriously wondrous tapestries. Upon one lays a sword. Upon the other lays a staff.

Upon both of them lay love.

Cloud Strife would never leave her side again.

Aeris Gainsborough would stay with him forever.

                                                                                *         *         *

           Bridget landed on his butt pretty hard, Roger spilling away from him, his yoyos out of reach and useless in any case. The business end of a monster anchor was leveled right at his face. If this was a real fight, he'd be dead.

But it wasn't.

"Pow, you're dead," cheerfully announced his opponent.

He grinned. "Okay, this round goes to you," conceded Bridget.

May grinned back at him. "Loser."

"Careless, more like it," commented Malin from the sidelines. "I count five mistakes that cost you, Bridget-_kun_."

"You're too critical," another voice countered, gruff and sarcastic, the last person you'd expect such words to come from. The audience thus falls into a hushed silence full of apprehension.

Yagami Iori glared at the audience. "Hey, I might have gotten reformed, but don't think I'm a softie pushover now. And quit that," he added.

The audience is still apprehensive, which annoys the Riot Blood fighter to no end.

"Assholes: EIGHT–"

"Yagami-_nii-san_!" scolded May.

Iori rolled his eyes to heaven, a gesture he'd gotten from a certain bad-ass American. But he kept his peace and restrained himself from kicking serious ass due his adopted kid sister's plea. He had a pretty good idea that Sol Badguy was having the same problems with Kagura as he was, but decided that pointing out that similarity to the half Gear would result in reintroduction to exquisite pain by fire and _Fuenken_ and Volcanic Viper and Dust Move chain link combos and Napalm Death. Iori might have been a fire user, but the fire in question was red, was someone else's, was tons more powerful than his, and burned him bad.

"I give…"

                                                                                *         *         *

           The view from atop the mountain was awesome, and the two could have enjoyed it a lot– if they weren't chatting so nervously about their state of safety and legality.

"Jack, are you sure we're safe and alone here? I mean, I seem to remember this place was supposed to be off-limits."

"The Philippine government is notoriously adept at making pronouncements of command– and just as notoriously inept at enforcing the law. They might order the Makiling-Banahaw area closed off to hikers for at least five years, but the hikers will still make it through the cordon. Just as we did, and so far, no one has caught us yet, right?"

"I hope not. The place needs to be left alone for a while. Did you see all the mess we passed by? People mess this nice place up and then sulk when they're reasonably told to pick up their trash and keep the area clean."

"You're right on that. Anyway, elections are in full swing this coming May 10. Just like in America, they won't get anything important done these next three weeks of election period and vote counting."

"That's not the point, Jack."

"Plus, we're foreigners. The local authorities are soft on foreigners. And they don't have anything to threaten their neighbors with. That's why the Chinese and Vietnamese and Malaysians and Indonesians can illegally fish in Philippine waters _and_ make fun of Philippine Coast Guardsmen while they're at it. Why do you think Communist China have illegal military installations on the Spratly Islands?"

"Jack, I mention the safety of this place, you give me a lecture on local and regional politics of the Philippines and Southeast Asia."

"What _is_ your problem, then?"

"They said this mountain had a witch."

"Oh, you mean Mariang Makiling. She's not a witch of the sort you are thinking of. She's an enchantress or faerie being who supposedly roams this place. Don't worry, as long as we don't mess up the environment or the wildlife, she should leave us alone. Anyway, she's a myth. And the myth also says that she doesn't want to have anything to do with humans anymore, so if she's real –which she's not– we don't have anything to fear from her."

"Somehow, you fail to reassure me with your windy speeches, Jack."

"If words don't work, I still have my shotgun. A couple of twelve-gauge steel buckshot should do in anything nasty we encounter quite quickly."

"I hope your faith in modern weapons proves true. 'The Blair Witch Project' scared the hell out of me real good. I don't want to have a real life version after us, much more something we can't kill."

"Relax, April. I'll take care of us both, no need to be afraid of mountain myths."

"_That's_ what I'm more afraid of, Jack: _You_."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, April. You inspire me like no one can."

"I'll take that as a compliment, too, Jack."

April and Jack went down from the mountain top, talking as they went.

They had no idea they were being watched.

                                                                                *         *         *

           Yuuki sighed to herself again, even as her memories and emotions swept around her again at that action, one trait she had inherited from her creator, the youth who gave her life and meaning and existence, the young man who'd loved her as his own daughter of flesh and blood, the one who brought her into life the first time and returned her again when death claimed her all too early and unwillingly.

He would always be the first man in her life, even now that he was gone.

_Sheo…_

Just as she'd taken off her glasses to wearily rub the bridge of her nose, a pair of hands slipped around her eyes.

"Guess who?" asked a smiling voice.

She smiled back.

"Loki-_kun."___

The smile of the handsome demon detective grew wider. "And how is my beloved Yuuki?"

"Quite fine despite the paperwork monster," she just as teasingly replied.

She had long dropped her ten year old guise, preferring her teenager form as Magical That Girl. This way, she could be both youngish cute and mature. Likewise, Loki had kept to his true form as the Norse night god of mischief, his twenty-something identity. Normally he could only assume that form when he had collected enough 'dark aura', and only temporarily.

But his fiancée was, after all, Yuuki Darren. The Will and The Word held for her and those she loved.

His hands slipped away from her eyes and around her neck. She held them with her own, swiveled her chair around to face him even as she stood up and walked right into his embrace, returning the hug with one of her own.

"_Tadaima__,"_ she affectionately told him.

"_Haii__."___

They were going to kiss when the door banged open not too subtly.

A girl stood there. Ten years old or so, cute expressive face which was right now dominated by huge black-brown eyes which were especially huge right now, staring at Yuuki and Loki in absolute unhappiness at the way the two were so loving together… when it should be her and Loki.

To quote _Iron Maiden and Dowser Knight_, the cacophony of reactions was interesting to observe.

"R-Reiya?"

"Loki-_kun_… _hidoi__…hidoi desu… Waaah!"_

"Uh, oh."

There was a blinding flash of light.

Trouble in paradise…

                                                                                *         *         *

           Deep within the darkness, separated by an unimaginable distance, two hearts stir for a fleeting moment.

"Sheo… My Master…"

"Sheo-_nii__-san_… wait for us…"

Sigil Armitage and Elle Shoshone sleep for awhile longer.

                                                                                *         *         *

            _One year after the events chronicled in **Guilty Gear: The Wedding Night 2**, several months after the end of **Revolution: It's Not What It Seems…**_

****_The story of a world continues…_

            _A world within and without…_

_            Even without him…_

**Guilty Gear**

**The World Within And Without**

**Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**Overseen By:** Yuuki Darren

 "The world will go on, even without Sheo Darren."

**Sheo Darren**

 "No. The world _is_ the Word. The Word is Sheo Darren."

**Sylphe**** Alita**


	2. Foibles of a Kitty Kat Named Mittens

**Previously in _The World Within And Without…_**

__

_ They were going to kiss when the door banged open not too subtly._

_A girl stood there. Ten years old or so, cute expressive face which was right now dominated by huge black-brown eyes which were especially huge right now, staring at Yuuki and Loki in absolute unhappiness at the way the two were so loving together… when it should be her and Loki._

_To quote _Iron Maiden and Dowser Knight_, the cacophony of reactions was interesting to observe._

_"R-Reiya?"_

_"Loki-kun… _hidoi…hidoi desu… Waaah!"__

_"Uh, oh."_

_There was a blinding flash of light._

_Trouble in paradise…_

__

_ Deep within the darkness, separated by an unimaginable distance, two hearts stir for a fleeting moment._

_"Sheo… My Master…"_

_"Sheo-nii-san… wait for us…"_

_Sigil Armitage and Elle Shoshone sleep for awhile longer._

__

_One year after the events chronicled in **Guilty Gear: The Wedding Night 2**, several months after the end of **Revolution: It's Not What It Seems…**_

****_The story of a world continues…_

_A world within and without…_

_ Even without him…_

**Guilty Gear**

**The World Within And Without**

**Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**Overseen By:** Yuuki Darren

**Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**CHAPTER ZERO ONE**

**Foibles of A Kitty Kat Named Mittens…**

Sammy –hyper-intelligent alien feline entity disguised as a cute stray calico kitten, scheming scout/mole/observer/undercover operative temporarily stranded on the 'primitive' planet called Earth, and the greatest warrior of the Intergalactic Empire of Nibbles– was in an interesting situation.

"Here, kitty, kitty…"

"I hate it when she calls me that."

Indeed Sammy hated being called 'kitty'. The slight he felt was just a little less than what he got from being called 'kitty kat'; mocking his true glorious honor-laden and thousand-planet-feared name of Mittens was **unforgivable**. But he didn't resent at all staying in Millia's house for the moment.

There were many advantages to the location. One was that Sammy was surrounded by his distant Earth feline kindred. Millia was a cat lover; name a cat breed, she probably has it. (This was detrimental to her neighbors as the cats were sometimes very noisy at night, but no one had ever gathered the courage to tell off Millia; at least, no one who loved his/her own life and didn't want to get killed.) Sammy thus had someone to talk with who'd understand him.

Sort of, that is…

"…and then Earth falls under the Empire of Nibbles, the human beings are destroyed and their oppressive yoke over you comrades of mine will be thrown away and we will be upheld as heroes, our names written in the history books of the universe in glory and triumph. End of briefing. Are there any questions?"

"Meow."

"Good! Err, let's have one last briefing again, just in case…"

"Meow."

Two was that he got free fan service out of it, and no one was the wiser:

Millia walked into the room in just her undies, utterly unmindful of Sammy's huge eyes aimed her way.

"Ooh… so nice… not too big on the assets– but what curves… what sleekness… what a hottie! We gotta conquer Earth so we can have all their women to ourselves!"

In the distance, Leon Winchester is rushing like hell to catch up. "Damn you, Sammy! Stop ogling Millia! She's mine to ogle! Mine! All mine! Only mine!"

Third, final and best of all, the food was always take-out or delivery. Take-out food is good. Delivery is also just as good. Especially when the restaurant in question is just a block away from your house and the cook is one of the best in the business.

"Praise the Divine Cat Gods that Millia Rage –former Assassin Guildswoman with almost unmatchable skills and reputation in killing enemies– doesn't know how to cook but is smart enough to order out!"

Sammy did proper obeisance to the delivery girl, who happened to be Shampoo from _Ranma ½._

"Hey, Millia," the Chinese Amazon wondered aloud.

"Yes?"

"What's with your cat? He looked like he was ready to go bonkers over the fried rice I delivered."

"Bear with him. It's a personality quirk of his. Anything to do with rice, he goes crazy."

"Weird."

"So says the girl who turns into a cat when splashed with cold water."

_She does?_ Sammy was in bliss.

Were there disadvantages?

Of course, there were.

The complex's various alarms were ringing for all they were worth, but it was all for nothing. The intruders had already blown their way past the myriad defenses and security measures, disabling or killing all the guards they came across. In a few quick moments, the invaders had penetrated the most secure sector of the fortress, the safe area where all the valuables were kept from prying eyes and thieving hands.

Now those eyes and hands –and paws– would have their fill.

The armored vault doors to the secure area burst open.

Through the portal rushed Sammy and Millia and a horde of cats. Behind them were dead or disabled guards and smashed defenses.

"Yes! Yes! YES!" The evil kitten was ecstatic with his success. "We've done it! We've penetrated the most heavily guarded storage area of the most precious substance in all America, much more the world! Now, nothing can stand in the way of the Empire of Nibbles! Nothing! NOTHING!"

Lost in joyous rapture, Sammy turned to gloat over his new treasure–

–And stared in shock.

Before them were numerous neat stacks of gold bars: The gold bullion of the United States, now all his.

But Sammy looked angry.

"What is this trickery? Millia!"

"Yes?"

"I thought this was Fort Knox! I though this is the place where they kept a huge deposit of one of the most important substances on this pitiful planet!"

"It is." The assassin gestured to all the gold. "That's it. Gold."

"What? You mean to say that _gold_ is the precious material stored here?"

"Yes."

"That can't be! Where is all of the rice?"

She looked confused by that demand. "Rice?" she asked.

"Yes! Rice!" Sammy adopted a superior attitude. "Don't you know that rice is the most valuable thing in the universe?"

(We all know the answer to this.)

"No."

"What do you mean, 'No'? I was expecting this place to be loaded with rice! Even a mere one-kilo sack would be priceless! Much more tons and tons of them!"

"You mean to say, rice is the most precious thing in the universe to aliens?"

"Yes! It is the most valuable resource for the Empire, much more, the civilized galaxy! It is life, food, fuel, raw material, ore and currency all throughout major star systems and planets! A mere handful can purchase an advanced Imperial battleship!"

"Really?"

"We need the rice! The Empire needs the rice! We need it to fuel our war machine so that we can finally subdue those damned _Di Gi Charat_ scum in our neighboring star system, whose planetary defense shields are so powerful that our mightiest weapons still cannot destroy their pitiful race, cowering behind their protection and making fun of us like the criminal coward bastards that they are!"

"Uh, Sammy?"

"WHAT?"

"Time to wake up, kitty."

"Eh?"

Comfortably curled up inside the kitten basket bed that Millia had made for him, Sammy suddenly woke up.

"WHAT THE HELL KIND OF FREAKIN' DREAM WAS **_THAT_**???"

This fine day, Sammy was planning his millionth attempt at world domination– which later panned out to be his millionth failure at world domination. For some reason the evil kitten couldn't grasp, Millia's cats couldn't be relied on to understand or execute even the simplest of his plans, no matter how clear he explained or how well equipped they were:

"I said, kill that human! Now!"

"Meow." The cat walked away.

"Damn."

As usual, Millia was walking around her house in just her undies and a big shirt. She was a distraction for Sammy, who wanted to keep his minds on better things –but then again, fan service is far better than world domination, right? It seemed Millia was indifferent fashion and modesty-wise, what with the way she didn't care much for her current state of undress.

Scene once more cuts to Leon Winchester, howling in anger and brandishing one of the two unnamed Outrage weapons in outrage (pun intended). The Outrage in the outraged (pun once more) man's hands was a Winchester rifle.

"STOP MOCKING MILLIA! SHE IS WHO SHE IS! BOW DOWN BEFORE HER! SHE IS MINE AND MINE ALONE! YOU HEAR ME? MINE! **MINE!**"

As far from Earth as the moon was…

"Poor man, he's bewailing his love out loud like that. Let's put him out of his misery."

"What do you think he is, some sort of stray dog?"

"Aw, he's kind of cute, though…"

"Never mind; I'll press the button myself, just to make sure..."

The Death Star charged up its mega anti-planetary laser cannon.

The earthquake that shook the city startled Sammy but not Millia. You see, the door then opened, and in walked –of all people– Venom.

"Good morning, Millia," he greeted. He did not attack or anything.

"Good morning, Venom," she greeted him back. She, too, did not attack.

Sammy looked from Millia first –his eyes lingering on her nice figure– then to Venom, then back to Millia. Then he said: "There is something wrong with this scenario."

(Of course that came out as "Meow".)

The two assassins looked at each other for a long moment. Remembering Faust's apt comment about a mongoose and a snake being thrown up together, Sammy wondered if a small war would start in the room and if it was wise to take cover and if so, would his new protection armor be put to a practical test earlier than he planned.

Then, to Sammy's utter shock, Millia walked over to Venom and kissed him full on the lips.

_"Tadaima_._"_ _I'm home._

"_Okaeri,_ _anata."_ _Welcome home, dear._

"I'll go prepare dinner right away."

"Good."

Venom put on a duster and apron and walked towards the kitchen.

"He's a much better cook than I am," Millia told Sammy. "We won't be eating take-out tonight, kitty, so sorry…"

What Sammy was screaming was, "WHAT KIND OF FREAKIN' IDEA IS THIS– AND NO RICE? **_NO_** RICE AT ALL FOR TONIGHT???"

What was heard by the two assassins was: "Meow."

If the readers think the premise is weird, the night got weirder still as it progressed. Millia seemed to be the _masculine_ part of the improbable couple, acting the way the husband would. In contrast was Venom, who acted almost _feminine_. It was as if the natural state of things was turned upside down all of a sudden.

"There really is something wrong with this scene," Sammy muttered for the millionth time tonight as he watched Venom cook dinner and Millia watch TV.

"Venom?"

"Yes, Millia?"

"What did the court say about our application?"

"Do you want to hear their exact words?"

"Yes."

"They said, 'There is something wrong with this scene'."

(Aside, Sammy was plotting vengeance on the local court for impinging upon his copyrighted quotes.)

Millia laughed. "But they didn't say it was illegal?"

"No. After all, you're still a woman and I'm still a man. There was nothing legally restrictive about it." Venom seemed to think over something before adding, "Although the situation is reversed, in a way."

"That's good to hear. Did you find a priest that is willing to officiate?"

"Father Maxwell doesn't seem to mind, but he's not available. Father Anderson is against the entire thing purely because I'm supposedly gay and you were rumored to be lesbian. He misses the point. The Masaki guy is missing; I think Baiken killed him back in Chapter 5 or 6. So I guess the best bet would be that priest from _Chrno Crusade_, Father Remington."

"Wedding invitations?" asked Millia.

"All sent now. I've invited only those friends of ours," said Venom. They're very few in number, considering we don't have that many of them in the first place."

Sammy would have torn off all of his head fur, save that he was a cat right now and couldn't because he had paws instead of hands. He did say: "This is never going to work out…"

("Meow.")

"Did you say something, kitty?"

"Meow."

Slayer nodded thoughtfully at the message he had just received, already decided even as his wife Sharon moved next to him.

"What is it, Slayer?"

"Sharon, my dear," the vampire announced smoothly and with much interested opinion, "We are invited to a wedding."

In a place shunned by the light, a patch of darkness blacker than the rest of the fabric around it ripples, like some malevolent killer whale's back barely breaching the surface of the placid midnight sea. It is a monster, no question of it. Of what kind, no sane man who loves his life would want to meet it or its maker, long dead both it and the last were, dead but still evil and able to reach out and destroy.

_Millia Rage…_

_Venom…_

_Kill… kill… kill…_

The thing that was once Darkness and Eddy/Zato One hisses as it rises.

**_KILL…_**

Next chapter…

Evil rises.

DARKNESS falls…


	3. My Wife Is An Assassin I'm One, Too

**Previously in _The__ World Within And Without…_**

_            "Wedding invitations?" Millia asked._

_"All sent now. I've invited only those friends of ours," said Venom. "They're very few in number, considering we don't have that many of them in the first place."_

_Sammy would have torn off all of his head fur, save that he was a cat right now and couldn't because he had paws instead of hands. He did say: "This is never going to work out…"_

_("Meow.")___

_"Did you say something, kitty?"_

_"Meow."___

_            Slayer nodded thoughtfully at the message he had just received, already decided even as his wife Sharon moved next to him._

_"What is it, Slayer?"_

_"Sharon, my dear," the vampire announced smoothly and with much interested opinion, "We are invited to a wedding."_

_            In a place shunned by the light, a patch of darkness blacker than the rest of the fabric around it ripples, like some malevolent killer whale's back barely breaching the surface of the placid midnight sea. It is a monster, no question of it. Of what kind, no sane man who loves his life would want to meet it or its maker, long dead both it and the last were, dead but still evil and able to reach out and destroy._

_Millia__ Rage…_

_Venom…_

_Kill… kill… kill…_

_The thing that was once Darkness and Eddy/Zato One hisses as it rises._

**_KILL…_**

_Next chapter…_

_Evil rises._

_DARKNESS falls…_

**Guilty Gear**

**The World Within And Without**

**Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**Overseen By:** Yuuki Darren

**Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**CHAPTER ZERO TWO**

**My Wife Is An Assassin (I'm One, Too)**

            The wedding of Millia Rage and Venom took place this lovely May morning.

In the tradition established of previous fan fiction _The Wedding Night _and _The__ Wedding Night 2_– a tradition begun by _Kill Bill_ and _My Wife Is A Gangster_ anda Motolite Battery commercial from the Philippines, among other movie sources– everything will as usual go wrong, horribly wrong.

But that is for later.

The story begins in a different location instead of going to the wedding itself at once, for reasons of this part having been forgotten to be placed in the _previous_ chapter instead of this one. Yuuki had some delays with getting this on print since she was also having a tug of war with Reiya over poor Loki-_kun_. Please bear with the problems.

            "Captain!"

The Jellyfish pirates had never really been the same since May and April left, the former more at home now at Bridget's side, the latter lost somewhere in the Philippines with her best friend's fiancé's twin brother. They had changed even more profoundly when Johnny had joined Sho 'Samael' Tsuzuku's group. Naturally the remaining Jellyfish girls had followed their captain even into the very mouth of the beast, loyal to their leader even in his darkest moments.

Johnny had died at the end of that battle. The Jellyfish girls were left leaderless and fatherless; the charismatic pirate lord was all they had left in the world.

But if Johnny was dead, then who was the Jellyfish girl calling?

.

Shortly after the end of _The Wedding Night 2_:

"John-_san_?"

The blonde man gave the newcomer a carelessly curious look, one so familiar to the latter and for good reason, having had a very recent experience with the only other man who looked and acted like that. It was, aside from physical looks, the only thing he shared with that man.

"Yeah, that's me," the man named John answered. He held a pair of shears in his hand, had black wraparound shades over his blue eyes, and wore a duster to keep away the dust and leaves. He had been trimming the lawn when the stranger had called him out.

"_Yoroshiku__ onegaishimasu_, John-_san_. My name is Elde Talonn. May I speak with you?"

"Sure thing." John  wondered just what the boy wanted to ask him about.

"So, Johnny's dead…"

"Yes."

"My brother was a good man."

"He was."

John leaned back into his chair and considered the request made of him.

He was by nature a reticent person, very comfortable by his lonesome and preferring to keep it that way, disliking politics and avoiding any position of leadership despite his very responsible sensibilities. He was a teetotaler, a devout Catholic and a law-abiding man of peace. Though he did not exactly dislike women, he had never even tried chasing after girls all his life.

In other words, he was totally unlike his twin brother Johnny.

He wasn't Johnny. He could never be even the shadow of the last. He didn't even want to try. John was who he was, and he was happy with what he was.

But Elde Talonn had come here due the wishes of a dying man. Before Johnny had died, he had made his opponent promise that there would be a man to take care of the Jellyfish girls –_his_ girls– when he was gone.

_"I can't go on living like this. Promise me, kid. Man to man. You'll find my twin and have him take care of May and all the others. If not for me– if not for me, do it for my girls. Please."_

The Wanderer always made good on his promises.

And John loved his brother dearly.

He looked up to the expectantly waiting youth clad in black, saw the smile of knowing upon his face, and then John smiled himself as he asked, "Where do I sign up?"

.

"Captain! Cap'n John!"

He had made no concession as to who he was. The first thing he had told the Jellyfish girls was that his name was John and he was to be called such. The girls had really wanted Johnny back, but after a while they found the man called John a wonderful person being just who he was. He was sensitive, thoughtful, always was open to listening to them and knew what he did not knew– and was smart enough to ask the girls for advice, and to follow that advice. They came to love him as much as they loved Johnny before him.

"Oh, it's you, June. What's up?"

"You've got mail!" The pirate girl in question happily handed over the slip of paper, which John skimmed through quickly.

"A wedding? But… this is addressed to–"

"Yeah, it's Johnny's, really. But you're the Captain now, so I guess it's yours now."

John considered his options– and found that only one fitted the reaction his twin brother would have taken. It was mischief, of course– but somehow it appealed even to _his_ senses. It was a tribute to the late man's memory by acting as Johnny would have in his place.

"Set a course for this place, June. And tell the other girls to pick their nicest dresses." John beamed roguishly, exactly like his twin. "We've got a wedding to crash."

"Aye-aye, Cap'n!" the girls all happily echoed as they went to their tasks.

            "You are cordially invited to the wedding of Millia Rage and Venom," Ky Kiske read out carefully. He turned to his darling wife Dizzy and their best friends Hotaru and Rock Howard.

"Well, what do you think?"

"Wow, a wedding!" Dizzy seemed quite excited, Hotaru sharing the feeling equally. "We haven't been to one ever since our own!"

"Any relations of yours?" Rock asked Ky.

"We fought during the first _Seikishidan_ Tournament."

"It's a great way to make friends; fighting tournaments, I mean," added Rock. "As Kusanagi Kyo says in 2001, 'It's KOF! Enjoy it!'"

"Now what did that have to do with a wedding?" asked Ky, who didn't see anything connecting Kyo's quote and the invitation.

"Well, this is a Sheo Darren fan fiction, right?"

"Currently overseen by Yuuki Darren, but yes, you're right…"

"And the Sheo Darren Effect –random craziness– is law of the land, right?"

"Yeah…"

"So, remember your wedding night from _The Wedding Night 2_?"

Ky shivered at the memory. Of course he did. He had to suffer a lot before finally winning Dizzy's hand, his nationality insulted, his body and pride beaten up by Justice's reincarnation and System Wings and cute yet scheming murderous pirate girls. And then there was the wedding itself, where all manner of people and ex-Gears and Filipino warriors in loincloths and Boxes of Doom and Barneys and bishies had attended and wrought havoc. And then there was the wedding night ending –Geese's "Fight me, Terry" challenge still haunted his sleep sometimes– that had introduced them to Rock and Hotaru in not exactly very friendly manner. There was even Lone Wolf SIX's duel between Ky and Rock as a follow-up to the last.

Of course he remembered; Ky had good reason not to forget. It wasn't something to forget, after all.

"Well, guess what? I have the feeling that _déjà vu_ is about to have a field day again." Rock grinned. "And that means we're going to have fun."

"Oh. _Oh."_ Ky grinned back. It _had_ been some time since he got to crack miscreants' skulls in, and the therapeutic effect was good, doctor's opinion or not (consider the only doctor in town was Faust, but no one in his right state of mind goes to the former Doctor Baldhead, which explains Zappa being his only regular patient; the desperate Australian was being driven nuts by S-Ko and ghost company). "We're there?"

"Yeah!"

            Millia Rage was nervous.

She'd never been nervous before. She lived on _nerve_ –the root word of _nervous_– but she never was nervous. That was reserved for other people. Heck, she _made_ people around her nervous by her mere presence alone. But she herself had never felt that particular emotion. Even as a newly-inducted neophyte of the Assassin Guild, even on her most dangerously hair-raising (pun intended) assassination attempts, she had never been nervous.

But there is always a first time for everything.

She didn't drink alcohol, not ever, but now she had on friendly experienced advice downed a couple glasses of wine. It helped to control the shakes she was experiencing.

"Butterfly in your stomach," calmly advised Sharon. "Dear, please open your mouth."

"Eh?" But Millia did as she was told. Sharon thwacked her back a bit firmly. A yellow butterfly exactly like the ones that frequented Millia's GG stage flopped out of the blonde's mouth. "Oh. I see."

Slayer's lovely immortal wife was not only helping Millia deal with a bad case of the sakes, she was practically standing in as the younger woman's mother. Millia had been an orphan when the Assassin Guild took her in (some sources say she was orphan_ed_ by the Guild); all her life she had lacked a maternal figure to look up to– until now. Sharon had never had a child of her own despite her and Slayer's best efforts; her motherly instincts had thus far had no focus for expression– until now.

"There. Feeling better now, dear?"

"I still feel a bit nervous," admitted Millia. Sharon considered that, and then repeated the thwack. This time, a _blue_ butterfly came out. As in, the one Anji Mito's Taunt summons, the one that turns into the Aerosmith logo.

"Much better." Millia sighed to herself and regarded herself in the mirror. "I'd never thought I'd ever get myself married."

"Fate will have Her way, my dear, despite our best intentions. Of course, we can also argue that we will have our way despite Her, since She is but a reflection of our free will's action."

"I guess…"

"If you think you're having problems, you should see your soon-to-be-husband."

"Eh? Venom?" Millia couldn't believe that. "He's the epitome of calmness except with Zato and Eddy."

Sharon smiled enigmatically. "You might be surprised."

            At the male half, Slayer was amusedly watching Venom addressing his reflection in the mirror. "You can do it, you can do it, you can do it, you can do it," the dark-skinned assassin was repeatedly telling himself, shoring his confidence up before the big moment. "You can do it! For Millia!" he declared in a tone previously reserved for Zato only. "For Millia!"

_Humans are so amusing to observe,_ the bespectacled vampire lord decided. _The poor boy must be having a huge problem fighting off the way he's been living his life for quite some time now. But he will make it, I think. Humans are interesting because just when you think you've known them all for a long time already, they _do_ something that surprises you._

_And now I'm ripping off Felicia from _Darkstalkers. It was enough to make Slayer smile. He was sure the cat-girl would forgive him.

Speaking of cats, the men had given no notice to the small ball of calico-white fluff that was Millia's pet kitten, stuck here because it was after all male. If they only knew what it really was, maybe they'd have been a little more wary– but not wary enough as it seems.

            Sammy snickered to himself. His plans were all ready. All that was needed was timing and execution.

_Soon, it will be time…_

            At first the wedding of Millia Rage and Venom (no last name; he was adopting his wife's surname for convenience's sake) was like Baiken and Anji's from _The Wedding Night 2_. Nothing unusual happened at first. Everything went normally.

Even the priest was normal. Father Remington of _Chrno__ Crusade_ fame –some said hi character designer was a huge fan of Ky, seeing that Remington looked like what the Holy Knight would, given ten or fifteen more years age– presided over the ceremony. He was a lot nicer and saner than Father Alexander Anderson, but that didn't mean he was a soft touch, even as people forget about the Gospels of a different nature that he carried inside his habit for his personal Colt .45 Government (and no, the Government is not a beer).

Millia was lovely and graceful in her wedding gown, a gift from Slayer who acting in the role of the father brought the blonde over to her awaiting groom. For once, Venom's veritable curtain of pale hair was not draped across his face, reminding the female population that he was despite his argued problems on sexuality a very handsome man.

Anyway, everything was smooth sailings until they reached the most volatile part of any wedding, especially ones of '_The Wedding Night 2'_ infamy.

You guessed it right.

"And if anyone has just cause to object to the union of these two people, do so now or forever withhold your words in peace." Father Remington paused, the better to give such objectors time to speak up.

Considering Millia and Venom's former jobs as assassins, plus the presence of Slayer, Ky, Rock, Dizzy and Hotaru, you'd think any objector would have second thoughts at least or be frightened out of the very thought.

Not if the objectors weren't pushovers, either.

A goodly number of the attendees were all cloaked, their faces hidden by their hoods. They threw the concealing garments away now, revealing a assembly of men and women armed with all kinds of unlikely weapons–like, Sol uses a Zippo lighter as a sword, or Ky a sparkplug, or Venom a cue stick or Zato a shadow, that kind of _unlikely_.

They were also all familiar to Millia and Venom.

They should be. They were all ex-members of the defunct Assassin Guild.

"Venom! You will pay dearly for your treachery of our Guild's honored principles and your union with the outcast traitor who betrayed Zato-_sama_!"

The one speaking was a pretty young girl with chocolate brown hair and blazing eyes that made people pause by reason that one pupil was colored sapphire blue and her other was ruby red. She was decked up in a circus magician's getup, a black long-sleeved tuxedo and matching pants and cape against a white blouse and Hellsing gloves and a hat reminiscent of Penguin's from the old _Batman_ series, a magic wand in hand. She had the most dramatic entry since she was the first to reveal her true identity, and that combined with her cockily cheerful attitude meant she was the leader of this little jaunt.

_Well,_ thought Ky grimly as he drew _Furaiken_ from its sheath, _At least we know whom we should defeat._

Venom stepped up in front of Millia, a shield that would not budge. "Akari Odine," he pronounced calmly. "I thought you were dead."

"Quoting Dekim Barton almost verbatim, are you?" Akari absent-mindedly bent her wand partway half with both hands, her mismatched yet pretty eyes glaring poisonously at her former comrade as she returned her half of their mutual hatred. "Well, the reports of my death –or assimilation, Picard and Borg-wise– have been greatly exaggerated."

A gloved hand snapped out to point the wand at Venom like a snake poised to strike. "Do you really think we will let you get away this such blasé treachery? You traitor!" There was real feeling to the way the magician girl/assassin spat her odium out in verbal terms. "Zato-_sama_ gave you everything! He trusted you! He loved you! And yet you turned away from him and took another! You threw his love away!"

The tears in Akari's contrastingly pretty eyes were very real. So was the hatred:

"And for that, I will kill you and everyone around you!"

That was the signal for a general melee. As one the Assassins in the audience charged forward in a controlled berserk frenzy, aiming themselves at Millia and Venom with killing intent. Rock and Ky went head to head with them, thunder sword and dark gales their weapons, the two blonde warriors actually stopping their opponents' momentum by the ferocity of their defense. Fists flashing in fury at the interruption of his 'daughter' wedding and in anticipation of a good fight, Slayer joined the battle on their side. Meanwhile, Father Remington decided against drawing his gun and simply ordered everyone else to leave the open-air auditorium, leading Sharon and the others to safer places. But Dizzy and Hotaru would not leave their husbands; breaking off from the Magdala minister, the two cute but powerful 'ribbon' girls waded in as well. Between the five fighters, none of their foes could stand alone.__

But despite their best efforts, one Assassin got through.

Akari Odine was driven by hate. Ever since she was a child, she had been turned away and hated by the people all around her. They hated her and everything about her: Her unnatural eyes, her lack of heritage or relations, her bodily motions none could follow or decipher, the sleight of hand powers she knew not what origin it had– but which served as her only protection and possession. She hated in turn, hated the people for hating her for what she was and their derisive attentions and their arrogance. She hated herself for merely existing as she was.

Then the blonde man with the blindfold about his eyes came one day, and everything changed.

_The man calmly looked upon her and smiled._

_'Looked' was not the exact term. He had a red cloth wrapped around his eyes. He was blind. Yet the way he posed seemed to imply that despite his lack of eyesight, he was very much aware of everything around him– much more, the cornered little child who nevertheless spat at him furiously in defiance._

_"Child, you have a power unique among the maggots of this world."_

_He talked in a pleasant voice. He was handsome despite the bindings around his eyes, despite the hidden menace she felt from him, that literal shadowy evil he embodied. He was interested in her and did not express disgust or hate for her, so unlike the others she had met before. He was all she was not, and she hated him for it._

_And yet…___

_"Would you like to have a home?" he asked. "Would you like to come with me?"_

_And yet despite all he embodied that she hated, she found herself following him into the darkness..._

**_Abandon all hope, all ye who enter here._**

Since her entry into the Assassin Guild, Akari quickly rose through the ranks and into a position second only to Zato himself and Venom. Her fighting abilities were an open secret in the Guild; few were her match. She had never failed him; she had always killed her target and accomplished her missions. Akari was unquestionably loyal to Zato. He had given her the Assassin Guild as a home and shown her to use her power; she in turn followed his every command without a thought for herself or others, willing to kill or die if only for her Zato-_sama_' sake.

She was deeply in love with him. When Zato had picked Venom instead of her, she had felt angry and envious as she had never been all her young life. When he had shortened his time of taking notice of her in order to tend to a fellow Guild newcomer, it was all she could do not to try tearing off Millia Rage's pretty little blonde head. Part of the reason she had exceeded herself so much was that Akari competed with the unknowing Millia for Zato's attention. Yet despite all that, the brunette had remained loyal to Zato while all others abandoned him. She loved him too much.

Now, her home was gone.

Now, the man who was her life was gone.

Now, the people who abandoned him were about to begin their happy lives outside his memories.

Well, _fuck_ that!

Venom had left his carrying case back at the dressing room, since it was very cumbersome to carry his cue stick weapon _and_ get married at the same time. But Millia always had her weapon handy– rather, her weapon was part of her. Tossing off her silly veil, the blonde undid her hair and got into her fighting pose.

But Akari did not attack at once. "You," she half-hissed, half-sobbed at them, "It was always you. It was always you who were trying to take Zato-_sama_ away from me. You and Venom, you conspired to take him away and then destroyed him. Now, you think you can get away with it? Do you really think I wouldn't care anymore?"

"I don't want to fight you," reluctantly began Millia.

"Well, _I_ want to _kill_ you!" Akari shot back in tears, playing cards made of razor thin low-carbon steel sliding down the cuffs of her sleeves and filling her hands. These she hurled at her hated rival, a cloud of killing knives cutting the very air they passed through.

Millia parried all the cards aside with Lust Shaker, but was forced to block when Akari swatted at her with the suddenly humongous wand. The blonde was driven back a few steps by that massive blows, but caught herself and then lashed out with a Single Wing while sidestepping. She got lucky and caught Akari across the chest, but succeeded only in tearing up the front of the blouse. That got the dark-haired girl all worked up.

"That was my favorite blouse, you stupid bitch! Zato-_sama_ himself gave it to me!"

Millia wasn't exactly listening, launching a flurry of stabs and slashes with her magically-enhanced hair. Akari deflected them with her indestructible cape but her anger screamed at her to retaliate quickly, and she suddenly threw her hat at Millia. Like Oddjob's own headgear of James Bond fame, the hat brim concealed a killer saw edge. Millia dodged it easily, but the hat attack was only a set-up move; aiming her wand carefully, Akari triggered her so-called Diamond Cutter laser beam, which hit Millia on the shoulder. Blood streamed from the wound, the injury's shock and the glare of the beam dazing her temporarily.

Akari retrieved her hat and pulled out two swords from her cape. "Time to die, bitch…" She closed in.

Venom grabbed one of the bronze-plated candleholders and stepped in. The makeshift weapon had none of the lightness and balance of his cue stick, but it would have to do. He did manage to hit Akari on the shoulder, distracting her for a moment, but his weapon was too unwieldy to be effective.

Then, seemingly smiling venomously at the interruption, Akari struck out with one sword. The candleholder was cut in half, leaving Venom to stare at the two sticks he was left holding.

From where she had fallen, Millia was screaming at her husband to move. But he didn't, instead throwing his unarmed self at Akari to buy his wife time to recover.

In a smooth follow-up movement, the viciously grinning girl buried the other blade into him.

He managed to stay on his feet for a few moments, but then sagged against his attacker. Akari pulled her bloodstained sword free and shoved him away.

Venom lay very still upon the floor.

_Was he dead?_

Rage worthy of her name overcame Millia, stripping away her restraint. Surprised to see her opponent back up on her feet, Akari was quickly overwhelmed by a swarm of stabs and slashes that were but a prelude to Bad Moon, Tandem Top and Emerald Rain. The three attacks tore Akari up like a whirlwind made of blades, shredding her clothes and inflicting deep slashes upon her small body. She screamed in pain and growing fright, screamed for her Zato-_sama__,_ but he couldn't hear her– and neither did Millia, who didn't care anymore, she was fully into her berserker fury, blood dripping from the golden killing mane.

"You killed my husband," growled Millia in a frightening voice, looming over the defeated Akari, the very gore-laden image of The Bride from _Kill Bill_.

"You killed Zato-_sama_," the bloodied girl managed to murmur back despite her extensive injuries, defiant 'til the end. "We're just even now."

Millia prepared to launch Iron Maiden, her final killing blow.

Akari prepared to finally be with her Zato-_sama_.

There was a blur, and then a man stood between them.

"Stop," John said smoothly.

While the _Guilty Gear_ and _Garrou_ fighters battled the assassins to a standstill, Sammy was hastily assembling his emitter device from a mishmash of items he had collected. There was a very old Apple mini computer –it even had an original copy of the old Atari _Pong_ game–, a Sega Saturn that reeked of great undead evil, an X-Box that stank of great modern Microsoft Windows OS evil, a Nokia cell phone, a china plate and lots of old copper wires scavenged from junkshops. Once the emitter was finished, he began inputting its command functions.

Once it had been programmed, it would take but a second to activate– and thus summon the full might of the Empire of Nibbles to Earth. Like what the Borg had nearly accomplished in _Star Trek: First Contact_, but unlike the Borg, the felinoids of the Empire will succeed. No one on Earth could stop them.

After all, Sheo Darren was gone.

As he inputted the last lines of code into the emitter, Sammy heard a massive explosion behind him– and felt the earth shake beneath him. Luckily the emitter held together.

**"SAMMY…"**

Leon Winchester was overcome with the Flames of Rage/Riot Blood/Mazaku/anything-to-do-with-berserk powers. "How dare you! For messing with Millia like that, I will have you destroyed!"

"Ah, Leon, you've finally come. But you've arrived too late," snickered Sammy. He hit the button, and the emitter began transmitting its long-range message to its distant target. "My emitter is online! In a matter of days, the Empire of Nibbles will know the location of this pitiful planet! They will come and conquer it within an instant's passing! Resistance is futile!" laughed the evil kitten.

The 'Ultimate Millia Rage Fan' armed his Winchester rifle. "Not if I have a say in it!"

"Really?" Sammy transformed into his true cat-Kliff form. "Well, prepare yourself to be chopped to bits by my evil knife!"

"Die!"

"Stop," John said smoothly.

"Out of my way, Johnny," Millia warned.

"No. And my name is not Johnny, but merely John."

"Whatever." Millia was not in the mood for word games. "Get out of my way."

"No."

"Do you want to die?"

"No."

"Then move aside."

"No."

Millia's bloodstained hair rose threateningly.

"She killed Venom. She was willing to kill me, too."

"So? Is that reason to kill her?"

"More than enough!" she snarled.

John stood his ground and asked, "Then you're no better than she is."

"I'm different from her!"

"No, you aren't. She kills even to this time; you don't, not anymore."

"There's always a time to kill!"

"And is it your power to decide who lives and who dies? Who do you think you are, Millia? Zato One? Eddy? John Grisham and _The__ Pelican Brief_?"

"I'm none of them!" she railed angrily.

"Then don't do what they would do in this situation," John told her. "Break the paradigm. Be a new being."

Millia grew quiet all of a sudden. She knew what he said was true.

She had almost become a monster again.

"What if she goes after someone again? What if she tries to kill someone else– or me, or even you?" she asked.

"She won't. You have my word on it."

"Your word…"

"–Is mine," finished John, "And I am bound by it."

"Besides," adds a new voice, "I'm not yet dead."

Millia stared in shock at Venom.

The black assassin grinned painfully at her even as he staunched his stab wound. "No need for a funeral, Millia. I'm still very much alive, you can see for yourself–"

She didn't let him finish. She kissed him in joy.

Their wedding can always take place another time.

In their eyes, they were already so.

John smiled at the sight of the two assassins before turning to the crippled Akari, who stared at all of them with vengeful hatred.

"I'll kill all of you one day," she hissed weakly, her strength ebbing as she slowly bled to death, "I'll kill you all for Zato-_sama_!"

"Perhaps one day, you would," was the calm answer as he bent over her and gently picked her up in his arms. Akari struggled a bit but was too weak due to loss of blood.

"But that day," John reassured her quietly, "Will have to wait."

Strangely enough, she felt like she was being carried–

The blonde hair, the slight smile, the reticent presence all were like those of one person.

–By Zato.

Akari Odine lost consciousness.

But not before she smiled one last time.

"What the hell is that?"

"Oh, my God!"

"Impossible! That thing's dead!"

"Reports of the big black _something_'s death have been greatly exaggerated…"

"Shut up, smartass."

All the fighters broke off their battle as the giant black tidal wave swept over the horizon and towered over them. The thing –there was no other word to name it, except perhaps _monster_– shifted its form almost incessantly, becoming human, then demonic, then something in between. Part human, part shadow, but it was all evil.

They could all hear a familiar voice –no, there were _three_ familiar voices, all clamoring for attention, all of them hungry for blood.

"_Korosu__… korosu… korosu…"_

A giant sightless eye opens.

**_"KOROSU!"_****__**

Darkness/Eddy/Zato One has come.

Even as the agent who sent it battles for his very life, the subspace transmission travels beyond the speed of light into the depths of space. Its message is received by its intended targets. It is a short one. Its most important part is a series of coordinates pertaining to the location of the Solar System– and of Earth. It is, in a galactic sense, an address of a place– and a call that the harvest is ripe here.

Its recipient, a gigantic battleship, leads a massive fleet of other such ships. Aboard each ship is an army of feline warriors, all skilled and ready and awaiting battle, armed to the teeth and paw with advanced weaponry. They are all hungry; they want **_rice_**_._

The Empire of Nibbles is on the warpath.


	4. Oh, Angel

**Previously in _The__ World Within And Without…_**

_She didn't let him finish. She kissed him in joy._

_Their wedding can always take place another time._

_In their eyes, they were already so._

_John smiled at the sight of the two assassins before turning to the crippled Akari, who stared at all of them with vengeful hatred._

_"I'll kill all of you one day," she hissed weakly, her strength ebbing as she slowly bled to death, "I'll kill you all for Zato-sama!"_

_"Perhaps one day, you would," was the calm answer as he bent over her and gently picked her up in his arms. Akari struggled a bit but was too weak due to loss of blood._

_"But that day," John reassured her quietly, "Will have to wait."_

_Strangely enough, she felt like she was being carried–_

_The blonde hair, the slight smile, the reticent presence all were like those of one person._

_–By Zato._

_Akari__ Odine lost consciousness._

_But not before she smiled one last time._

_"What the hell is that?"_

_"Oh, my God!"___

_"Impossible! That thing's dead!"_

_"Reports of the big black something's death have been greatly exaggerated…"_

_"Shut up, smartass."___

_All the fighters broke off their battle as the giant black tidal wave swept over the horizon and towered over them. The thing –there was no other word to name it, except perhaps monster– shifted its form almost incessantly, becoming human, then demonic, then something in between. Part human, part shadow, but it was all evil._

_They could all hear a familiar voice –no, there were three familiar voices, all clamoring for attention, all of them hungry for blood._

_"Korosu… korosu… korosu…"_

_A giant sightless eye opens._

**_"KOROSU!"_****__**

_Darkness/Eddy/Zato One has come._

_Even as the agent who sent it battles for his very life, the subspace transmission travels beyond the speed of light into the depths of space. Its message is received by its intended targets. It is a short one. Its most important part is a series of coordinates pertaining to the location of the Solar System– and of Earth. It is, in a galactic sense, an address of a place– and a call that the harvest is ripe here._

_Its recipient, a gigantic battleship, leads a massive fleet of other such ships. Aboard each ship is an army of feline warriors, all skilled and ready and awaiting battle, armed to the teeth and paw with advanced weaponry. They are all hungry; they want **rice**._

_The Empire of Nibbles is on the warpath._

**Guilty Gear**

**The World Within And Without**

**Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**Overseen By:** Yuuki Darren

**Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**CHAPTER ZERO THREE**

**Oh, Angel**

            The Death Star.

It hung over the blue-white marble planet that was Earth so peacefully, a steel gray orb floating in its seemingly aimless way in space, you'd never had thought it was a weapon of mass destruction. But then you'd see the numerous capital turbolaser and particle beam artillery batteries and other weapons emplacements, and then the sinister shapes of the battleships moored on outer docks and internal hangars, and then the huge pit on one pole of the artificial moon that could only be the muzzle of a very big weapon. The Death Star had been made to visit almost-instantaneous and virtually assured annihilation on any target its commander wished.

As now.

Klaxons were sounding all over the vast battle station's decks and quarters, sending the crews –almost all women courtesy one young man's bias– to their duty posts. The command bridge was alive with incoming data displays and the controlled frenzy of calls and reports.

Yuuki raced through the sliding doors, Loki only a few steps behind her. That Girl settled herself as best as she could into the command chair several sizes too large for her, having been made to fit one particular person's taste and comfort. Remembering whose chair it really was, she inwardly sighed to herself.

_Sheo…_

Mastering herself, she turned to her worried bridge crew, a beacon of calm in the chaos, Loki's presence at her side reassuring her and them all. "Status report!"

The scene would have been familiar to the doomed personnel of the Grand Cannon from _Macross_ who got their hides thoroughly aired by the 5 million strong Zentraedi fleet_._ It seemed the entireness of space was filled with the enemy, there were so many of them. Rank upon rank of warships bristling with laser cannon and missile tubes were arranged in a psychologically intimidating wall of death-bringing metal. Their huge mothership was a monstrosity, ten times the size of its biggest 'flunky', a tiger amongst bobcats.

Literally.

Despite their deadly capability, the military might of the Empire of Nibbles was rather a laughable lot. For one thing, they all in one way or the other looked like plushie kittens. Even their mothership seemed more like a _kawaii_ tiger doll than a warship.

Facing them was the Earth defense fleet. The former Anti-Sho Tsuzuku Task Force was already mobilizing, the myriad battleships surging free of their mooring docks and holding bays, weapons primed and shields energized and launch bays pumping out their deadly cargo of mecha and combat spacecraft. The flagship _J-Ark_ led the formidable formation, _Nadesico_ and _Nirvana_ trailing close, the other ships spreading out into the cone-shape formation that maximized their forward-directed weaponry's firepower.

Behind the Task Force, however, was the greatest guardian of Earth's security: The Death Star itself. It wasn't just the biggest of the lot; it also had the _most_ guns _and _the _biggest_ gun: The infamous anti-planetary super laser that once destroyed Aldebaran in _Star Wars_. Once the Rebel Alliance's greatest foe, it was now Earth's mightiest and last line of defense against all those who would dare threaten the planet.

The battle, it seemed, would be fleet against fleet: The insanely numerous Imperials versus the qualitatively superior Earth forces. It was a replay of the old Warsaw Pact/Soviet Army versus NATO, albeit in space. For those not familiar with the Cold War terms, think the Zerg versus the Protoss.

And _Starcraft_ gamers all know what happened to Aiur.

Would it happen to Earth, too?

            "The enemy fleet is the Empire of Nibbles' invasion armada. They have a total of perhaps three hundred thousand capital warships, all battlecruiser class or better. That's their mother ship over there, the big one, carries a load of assault ships that do the planetary invasion things. We do know they're into big ships and big guns. No known deployable fighter complement or equivalent in mecha. Technological levels are reputed to be quite advanced, according to our informants from their neighbors in the _Di__ Gi Charat_ system," Loki finished reading the report.

"Any known weakness of sorts?" Yuuki asked.

"Maybe we should target their snacks?" Nene Romanova suggested lightly.

Everyone stared at her as if she had suddenly turned into a hamster or something. Nene blushed and tried continuing. "Well, they look like the big ships from _Invader Zim._ If they start shooting purple lasers, maybe we should do that."

Yuuki's mouth became a thin line.

Nene thought she was going to die within the next minute, she was so embarrassed.

"Maybe we should," Yuuki finally said. Much to the beleaguered girl's relief, she turned to the rest of the bridge crew. "Red alert. Go to battle stations." To Nene: "Open a communications link to them. Let's see if we can talk them out of this."

The screen charged to show two very big cat-like humanoids that towered over _chibi_ versions of themselves who had to be their flunkies. They all reminded That Girl of Sammy the kitty cat, now that she thought of it.

(Locked in battle with Leon Winchester, Sammy screeched, "Don't call me kitty–ow!")

"Imperial commanders," Yuuki began quite coolly. "I _assume_ you're here on a navigational error, since we're quite a long way off the _Di__ Gi Charat_ star system you're obviously planning to obliterate. I never really liked them. Please, with all respects, go off and destroy them. We won't mind."

The bridge crew began protesting that. They all thought _Di__ Gi Charat_ was adorable– but then Yuuki cleared her throat. Everyone shut up.

The Imperial smirked, which nearly earned a grimace from Yuuki. She just hated that gesture. It reminded her of Sho –correction, _Samael_ Tsuzuku, that arrogant bastard.

"We are not lost, human. We are here to conquer your planet. Deactivate your weapons and shields and surrender– or die," finished the creature haughtily.

Yuuki sighed in an overtly dramatic way, seemingly tired and disappointed. Then her hands gripped the command chair's armrests so tightly that her knuckles went white, and her cobalt eyes flared angrily like a blue giant gone nova, making the Imperials actually flinch. But when she spoke, it was in a cold tone that froze hell over.

"I don't think so."

A flick of her finger shut off the comlink, and then the screen showed the Nibbles warships begin to reconfigure for attack formation.

"Miss Yuuki?"

She quoted _Wing Commander_ as an answer_:_

"Now it's time to make them sorry they were ever born."

As the girls all went to their tasks, That Girl leaned back into her chair and took her glasses off, fingering them in her hands, remembering who had given them to her in the first place.

_Sheo…_

            In the deepest parts of space:

"Plave, our sensors are picking up something from Earth. It is–" Executive Officer Sho Tsuzuku (both 'of relation to' and 'of no relation to' Sho Tsuzuku of _The__ Wedding Night 2_) considered his report's wording very carefully, finishing with an ironic-sounding "Very remarkable."

"Eh?" Interested, Captain 'Plave' sat up in his chair. "Is it the Borscht?"

"No, fortunately–" Seeing the looks of disappointment on the captain's face, XO Sho corrected himself. "_Unfortunately_, it is not our foes. It appears to be the Empire of Nibbles. Again," he added even more dryly than usual.

"Eh? Those dumb-asses again? Didn't we kick their asses before?"

"Affirmative, Captain." The said endeavor had resulted in the expenditure of fifteen steel chairs, three shots from that newfangled humongous gun the security chief had been ranting about, and a galaxy-shaking chorus of "_Kawaii__!"_ from the almost-all girl crew. The last had been the move that finished the enemy– and very nearly finished their ship itself as well. There were only five male officers, one overactive android, one holographic doctor, and the usual scattering of nameless cannon fodder _bishie_ boys who posed as the security/away teams and who were always the ones to die or be assimilated or meet any senseless yet creative end when encountering the enemy.

"They never learn." Plave whimsically considered the information before asking: "Hey, Purple!"

"Yeah?" was the helmsman's reply, muffled as it was by the huge bulky Barney costume he wore.

"How far is it to Earth at Maximum Warp?"

The ship's speed dial had three settings: Dead Stop, Maximum Warp, and Ramming Speed, the last's text colored in red and with a smiley mark next to it. By meticulous trial and error plus very finely-tuned and sensitive fingers turning the dial minutely, the Purple Dinosaur could adjust the speed setting to anything in between those three. Theoretically.

"Fifteen minutes, Keptin." The Purple Dinosaur talked like Chekov from the original _Star Trek_, although he also fulfilled the role of _Star Trek_'s Sulu's or that guy Lieutenant Miller who got assimilated by the Borg in _First Contact_ or that nameless guy who got sucked out of the bridge during _Nemesis_.

Next, Plave commanded: "Bridge to Engineering! Status report!"

The screen showed pandemonium as the entire engineering bay seemed on the verge of destruction, fires and smokes and collapsing stuff everywhere, the jumpsuit girls running around to tend things. The chief engineer, Zam, was covered in soot and looked harried as he reported over what sounded like the world coming to an end.

"Captain! She canna take much longah!"

Yes, Zam said that with a Scottish accent. It's a known fact that the best starship engineers are all Irish, even the alien ones. There's even a planet full of engineers who all have red hair and a love for beer and Irish accents.

Oh, and for the readers' information, the engineering bay wasn't blowing up. It always looked like it was in shambles because of shoddy design plans and lazy draft-dodging construction workers. Miraculously, it all held together and worked quite well despite appearances to the contrary. The only time they worried was when Chief Zam reported that everything was "Just fine", which means they were all in a matter of minutes going to die courtesy the engines going to hell.

"Okay. Set a course for Earth," Plave ordered in the very essence and image of a Starfleet captain.

"Captain," the simulated voice of the equally ethereal Doctor noted over the PA, stuck in Sickbay as a Emergency Medical Hologram of _Star Trek: Voyager_ fame, "May I remind you that we are on a mission of paramount importance to the Federation?"

"The Doctor is right," Sho observed.

Plave said something that was not exactly fit for people's ears. He hated his XO (Executive Officer) because the man didn't like him.

"No respect meant, but I need to mate only once every three years." Sho was a Human who acted all too much like a Vulcan– if Vulcans were ever illogical and martial arts freaks, that is. He also disliked his captain as much as the latter did for him.

Again, the swear words. "We need to pick up Taka from Earth, anyway. Our security chief went Big-Game Hunters on us, fragging campers for all he's worth with that damn Plasma Cannon." Plave had a way of using gaming terms as metaphors, one step down from direct l33t language.

"I should have gone onto the _Enterprise E_ when I had the chance," the Doctor grumbled over the PA. "Picard was reasonable and sane compared to this motley bunch."

"Can someone load an H-game into the Doc's motherboard and shut him up?" Plave complained. "Picard is gay!"

There were sounds of giggling over the PA, some shuffling noises, and then the Doctor was screaming, "Good God, no, not Tsukihime! Please! Have mercy on Arcuied and Ciel and Hisui and Kohaku and even Akiha! No, not the H-scenes! Anything but the H-scenes! God, please, not an orgy as well! Noooooo!!!"

Thankfully Sho shut off the PA before the bedroom SFX could start playing.

"Aww," the Purple Dinosaur muttered. "I want to watch that scene."

"Riel," Plave growled. "Just shut up and get the ship moving."

"Okay…"

"_Baka__ desu,"_ scolded the voice of the ship's blue-haired yellow-brown-eyed AI, official designation of Windows 2371 Edition OS but known to everyone aboard the ship as Ruri-_tan_. "What a bunch of fools…"

            It took only one swipe from Darkness/Eddy/Zato One to scatter the stunned fighters it dwarfed. Assassins and _Guilty Gear_ fighters and the outsider _Garrou_ duo went flying from that God-awful Shadow Drill rising perhaps thirty stories into the air.

Dizzy stayed airborne, her hands gripping Ky firmly, Necro and Undine keeping them in the air to watch the horror unfold. Like some hideous tentacle monster from ADV, a writhing mass of feelers erupted from the Thing's blackness, stabbing and smashing out at anything in reach.

The Thing. That was what their minds were calling it, the monstrosity before them. Certainly the name was far more convenient than calling it Darkness/Eddy/Zato. But it made sense. No longer was it any of the three shadow-users that it incorporated. It wasn't even a combination of their minds and personas. It was simply a mindless Thing driven by a madness of three minds that could not exist together all at the same time. It was a monster.

It was going to kill them all.

The Thing tore apart the Assassins in its way as if they were rag dolls. They could hear screams of pain from the dying even up where they were. The Assassins couldn't offer effective resistance. Their attacks and powers would not work. It knew their abilities like the back of its now non-existent hand; the Thing had seen it all.

It had been Zato One, after all.

"Hotaru!"

The red ribbon girl lay semi-unconscious on the ground. The last of the Assassins dead, the Thing turned its evil upon her.

"Dizzy!" Despite his justified pride in his own skills and power, Ky knew he didn't stand a prayer of stopping or even delaying the Thing. Their only chance now was the power that slumbered within his wife's body, the power that had blunted the evil Sana Kusanagi half a year ago, the power that was–

But then there was Rock.

Bleeding from the forehead, half his handsome face covered by blood and his lean frame hurting like hell, the young Howard nevertheless planted himself squarely in the thing's path. Nothing would hurt his wife while he lived.

He'd nearly lost her once before.

He would never allow that to happen again.

The Thing attacked.

"Reppuken!"

The dark gale slowed it, but the Thing recovered its lost momentum easily.

"Double Reppuken!"

Rock was dishing out his projectiles as fast as he could, the amethyst micro-storms growing more and more powerful with every new one released. Still the Thing came, hideous hydra heads reaching for him, for them.

"Greed Sever!"

His _Furaiken_ slicing apart the closest of the snapping fangs, Ky literally dropped in to fight at his friend's side. Stun Edges joined Reppukens, smashing into the Thing one after the other. Dizzy joined the fray, Bubbles and Arctic Impalers flying from Undine's hands, Necro spurting Spinning Scythes. Projectiles rained sledgehammer-like upon the monster, tearing rents upon the ebon skin.

But the Thing had all the power of three shadow users, and most of all it had Darkness, that feared by the heroes of _Shadow Skill_. It was huge and shrugged aside or ignored the blows, and then barreled into the four with abandon. Dizzy grabbed Hotaru but barely managed to fly clear, her helpless cargo weighing her down. Ky and Rock were less lucky. Slower than the two girls, they Fortress Blocked instead– and were promptly swallowed up within the monstrous bulk. It happened in a blink of an eye. They were gone.

"Ky! Rock!"

The Thing turned on Dizzy and Hotaru.

"Iyaaaahh!"

"RIDE THE LIGHTNING!"

"RAGING STORM!"

The Thing exploded, its shadowy matter spraying everywhere, splattering upon the ground and walls and on everyone.

At the center of the explosion, the grinning and drenched Ky and Rock emerged.

"I didn't know Overdrives could pack _that_ kind of damage when you launch two or more simultaneously," the Holy Knight declared.

"I thought this was _Guilty Gear_, not _Dynasty Warriors_," added the _Garrou_ warrior.

Dizzy could have cried in happiness; she did. In her arms, Hotaru had recovered consciousness. The two blondes headed over to their wives, confident in their victory.

Behind and around and below them, all the black liquid matter that had been the Thing stirred. Like iron fillings drawn to a magnet, they came together and rapidly rebuilt the being that had been destroyed.

Hotaru uttered a cry of warning. It was all they had.

The Thing attacked again.

            While all of the previous was going on, Sammy and Leon Winchester were blasting away at each other. The two were evenly matched. Where Leon had the advantage with all of his attacks done at long range (think Makijina Mina from _Samurai Showdown_),Sammy was supreme melee with his huge Kliff knife. Thus their battle was at a stalemate.

But despite what Sigil Clyne writes in her fan fiction –and she'd never updated as far as Sheo Darren knows, which is too bad since he kind of liked her story– there is no true 'stalemate' in battles. There is always a winner and a loser (or, in the case of the Philippine national elections as **_alleged _**by the opposition, a 'winner' who cheated and all the other poor saps who got cheated). The winner might not seem much after the dust settles, what with all the losses taken in the battle, but at least he's still there to count coup.

So saying, Leon Winchester won by a dirty trick. He threw something into the air, something to distract his opponent away from his next attack, an exercise of his opponent's psychological stature gone way wrong.

He threw a handful of rice away.

"NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Sammy scrambled to catch all of the precious grains of rice as they fell. He succeeded, swearing all the vile epithets and insults in his native language that the Cat Gods had taught against those infidelity-committing infidels who would dare perform such sacrilegious sacrilege against the holiest of holy items: Rice–

And then Leon Winchester shot him.

_Shot to the heart!_

_And you're to blame_

_You give love a bad name!_

_I've played my part_

_And you've played your game._

_You give love a bad name!_

            In _Excel Saga_, the blonde ACROSS agent Excel starts. She thought she had gotten shot again. Looks like she's mistaken this time...

Or maybe not, since there _was_ someone drawing a bead on her through a very familiar sniper scope.

**ZAP.**

**BOOM.******

Taka Ichiko exulted. He had not only accomplished his mission for Sega Black Ops/Tensaiga/Galactic Federation/whatever, he had also gotten on the scoreboard again. He liked firing off big guns. Especially his Sony P4216A "KILLTRUNK" hyper plasma cannon, an up-gunned version of the infamous KILLSTICK of _Megatokyo__ Fame_ which Taka had 'appropriated' from his employers' rival company only a few weeks ago.

His cell phone started ringing. Taka opened it.

"Yo, Taka!"

"Eh, Plave! What's up?"

"We're coming to pick you up."

"So early?"

"Yeah. Better keep your locator beacon on so we can teleport you aboard."

"Plave," Sho said over the communicator, "The term is 'beaming', not 'teleporting'."

"F$ck you, Sho."

"No, thank you, I am perfectly heterosexual."

"Okay," Taka said, "I'll wait for you guys. What's this about a great big battle I'm hearing about, anyway?"

"Long story. We'll tell it when we meet up."

"Swell."

            "Eh?"

That was Leon Winchester, staring at the smoking remains of Sammy the kitten–

"DOO DOO DOO DOO! HI-YAH!"

–which weren't that of a kitten, leastways not an organic one.

It was a mechanical cat. A robotic one, to be exact, disguised as a cat. It was colored methane blue and had odd eyes that changed color rapidly from crimson red to azure blue– and stayed at the second chromatic configuration. It was despite its extensive damage (or perhaps it was_ because_ of its extensive damage) running around crazily and shrieking out in a shrill synthetic voice one single word over and over again:

"MUFFIN!"

"Eh? Ger?"

If not the infamous little deranged robot itself, it came pretty close. It was just as noisy and just as crazy–

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

–Correction: It was crazier.

"Then… if this is a decoy… Where is the real Sam?" Leon demanded.

            The scene cuts to Invader-Zam4, who looks up from his computer.

"It appears that Mir's cover has been blown. I have to recall him before he is too damaged to relay the information he had obtained." He pushed a button, and Mir promptly skittered away back to his own dimension.

The setting of this chapter happens to take place a few hours before the start of _The Misadventures of Ky Kiske_ and its accompanying side-story where Zam, Sho Tsuzuku (the real one) and Sheo Darren –though how the last was persuaded to join forces with the former wasn't too clear, not to mention, "What the hell is he doing there when he's supposed to be gone for good?"– try to save dimensions from the threat of the evil Samael Tsuzuku a.k.a. Evil Sho from _The__ Wedding Night 2_. And no, Sho is not a character invented by Sheo, but a representation of a real life person, a 'self-insert'. Just so you'd know…

Leon Winchester: **"CURSE YOU, SAM! YOU GOT AWAY AGAIN BECAUSE OF THESE MEDDLING KIDS, BUT ONLY FOR THIS TIME! I'LL GET YOU ONE DAY! I SWEAR!"**

             "On my mark," Yuuki announced. Guns trained on the advancing ranks of Imperials even as the latter did the same, aiming for the Death Star and her accompanying defense fleet. All the Earth warships that had super beam weapons powered up while those who didn't prepared to cover the brethren while the latter recharged. The bad guys might outnumber the good guys, but the Blue Force would give the Red one hell of a surprise bloody nose for Round One.

"Miss Yuuki! We've detected a lone spaceship approaching the enemy from behind! It's not an Imperial!"

Yuuki was of a mind to ignore that. What could one ship possibly do against so many?

And then she saw the ship, and she was so startled that she actually laughed out of recognition and joy.

            _Space, the final frontier…_

Nearly two weeks ago, a bunch of Filipinos watched _Star Trek:_ _First Contact_ and got inspired to do a crazy spoof with themselves as the crew.

_This is the U.P.P. Vengeance. Its missions: **Not **to boldly go where no man has gone before..._

Thus, the good ship U.P.P. _Vengeance_, shame of Starfleet but perhaps the most incredibly lucky and powerful ship to ever sail the cosmos. Where all other Federation starships were made to explore space –with the exception of the _Defiant_-class destroyer, from the outset made to blow stuff up–_Vengeance_ had been designed to utterly fail. That it didn't– that it itself not only survived but survived so many crises and adventures, attested to the unbelievably good luck (or bad luck; you decide) of its 'dedicated' crew. It was helmed by the most mismatched bunch of people to ever serve in space command: **Captain Plapla 'Plave' Vengeance**, an irresponsible gaming freak who got this command simply because he was the grandson of the current leader of Starfleet and asked for a birthday present; **Executive Officer Sho Tsuzuku**, the illogical logician and greatest fist-fighting Vulcan-rip-off human to sail the universe; **Science Officer Arvi**, the hyperactive overemotional lolicon-loving sex-freak android; **Helmsman Purple Dinosaur a.k.a. Riel**, the guy who goes "Ramming speed!" and who keeps on dying in most every episode– and keeps coming back; **Security Chief Taka Ichiko**, the trigger-happy ex-Sega Black Ops commando who puts the most warlike Klingon to shame and who accounts for most of Riel's deaths; **Chief Engineer Zam**, the genius Irishman engineer who was also the crazier cousin of the legendary MacGyver; **The Doctor**, the holographic representation of Sheo Darren and perhaps the only sane male on the ship, unless someone shoves an H-game up his motherboards; **Ruri****-_tan_**, the _Vengeance_'s user-_un_friendly ship-borne artificial intelligence who likes to quote _Baka_ here and _Baka_ there, _Baka__ baka_ everywhere; the all-girl crew complement; and the _bishounen_ security/away teams, always the only ones aside from Riel to die.

Fighting all manner of enemies –but mostly, they fought each other– the crew of the U.P.P. _Vengeance_ sets out on their quest to save the universe from the greatest threats ever to appear in it: Themselves.

             "Keptin Plave! We're approaching the enemy rear!"

"Shields up! Polarize the external hulls!" Plave commanded. "Fire the steel chairs!"

_Vengeance_ was of course armed with standard Starfleet torpedo tubes, capable of firing both standard photon torpedoes and the new quantum torpedoes developed especially against the Borg. But these had been modified recently in order to be able to launch a new weapon accidentally discovered by the crew –actually, Plave was the first to use it– whose appearance belied its unstoppable destructive power against the Borg or their _bishoujo_ versions the Borscht from _The Misadventures of Ky Kiske_.

They were **steel chairs**, taken from World Wrestling Entertainment. Plave was a fan of American 'professional' wrestling.

Aside from being the helmsman, Riel was also the guy who fired the ship's weapons. The Purple Dinosaur loved that aspect of his job and he excelled at it, addicted as he was to _Galaga_ and _Sonic Wings_ and _R-Type_. _Vengeance_ could salvo-fire four steel chairs per two seconds. Riel aimed for the one weak spot in all the ships of the Empire of Nibbles: Their snacks.

Yes, Nene was right on the mark. The Empire of Nibbles was but just a clone of the aliens from _Invader Zim._

The steel chairs were renowned for taking down even the biggest and toughest wrestlers of the WWE. With amazing accuracy and unbelievable power, they easily punched through shields and armor and impacted onto the cargo bays containing all the snacks the Imperials had, scattering the rice into space.

"NO!" the Imperial commanders wailed. "OUR SNACKS! OUR RICE!"

The mother ship lost control and began smashing against its escorts, its crew gone completely amok at the loss of their favorite food. The _Vengeance_ darted past the useless hulk and began hitting the other Imperial battleships' snack storage, achieving with the expenditure of a few steel chairs the equivalent destruction wrought by a nuclear bomb.

For one long minute, Yuuki and company watched the destruction wrought by _Vengeance_ in utter disbelief. The Imperials were trying to fight back, shooting at the Federation starship with purple laser beams (again, Nene was right on the mark). But the seemingly sub-standard-looking _Vengeance_ shrugged off the hits or dodged them completely, and then it shot back with effect, returning fire with steel chairs and its own laser cannon which resembled Doctor Evil's death ray gun from _Austin Powers:_ _The Spy Who Shagged Me_.

"Tough little ship," Celtic Midori commented in admiration.

Yuuki raised an eyebrow at her crewwoman's comment. "Little?" The _Vengeance_ might be small, but it was definitely one hell of a war machine. But even it couldn't do everything by itself– and even if it could, help was always welcome. "Let's lend a hand, shall we?"

"Roger!"

             "Engineering, report!" Plave yelled into the mike even as _Vengeance_ shuddered from yet another hit.

"Captain, she canna take it much longah!" Which was the expected reply, meaning 'We're A-Okay here, don't mind us'.

"Thank you!" To Riel: "Deploy the _Crema__ De Fruta_ Chain Mines!"

_"Yehey!"_Riel pushed the appropriated button. "Die!"

_Vengeance_ carried a number of unconventional weapons, all of them hilariously stupid-looking but insanely devastating. Among these were huge chain mines that looked like giant Filipino fruit cakes. Belay that last; they _were_ giant Filipino fruit cakes. _Vengeance_ could carry twelve _Crema__ De Fruta_ and deployed them from a special cargo bay overhauled to be the launcher system for these warheads.

The effect was horrendous. Each _Crema__ De Fruta_ smashed into a battleship, spraying armor and rice and kittens into the vacuum of space. Then the monster weapons would lock onto another ship and attack.

"Captain Plave," Ruri-_tan_ suddenly spoke up –she was, aside from Riel and Arvi and the girls, the only one who called the captain so– "It's the _Enterprise_."__

"What?" Plave was enraged. "That gay dude Picard? Shoot them!"

"Captain, it's not **that** _Enterprise_."

"Eh? Oh."

The NX-01 _Enterprise_ zoomed past _Vengeance_ at full impulse, its phase cannons and torpedo tubes roaring. Behind it were the blazing capital batteries that belonged to the rest of the Task Force catching up with Jonathan Archer and company, and behind _them_ was the huge beam of red light that was the Death Star's superlaser tracking in on and detonating an Imperial battleship.

Within minutes, the successful back-attack of the _Vengeance_ turned into a full-fledge offensive, the Task Force rolling back the Imperials like a broom brushes away dust and dead leaves. There weren't even any attempt to resist; the Earth warships relentlessly hammered cargo bay after cargo bay full of snacks, effectively paralyzing enemy warships with little effort. The smaller mecha and starfighters actually did more damage, going up close and delivering their precision payloads upon storage areas loaded with rice more quickly and accurately than the bigger capital ships.

Finally, the Empire had had enough. Fully half of its invasion fleet had been destroyed and its mothership was badly damaged. The senior Imperial commanders ordered a retreat, which became a rout as the Earth forces pursued until the very edge of the solar system, punishing them further even though it wasn't necessary anymore, and one final lesson to be taught: Don't mess with us– or we'll make you sorry you were ever born.

The lesson was learned in full.

The Empire of Nibbles would never again return to Earth.

_"There is something about inevitability that offends human nature. Man is a creature of hope and invention, both of which belie the idea that things cannot be changed. But man is also a creature prone to error, and sometimes that makes inevitable the things that he often seeks to avoid."_

                                                                                                              **Tom Clancy, _Debt of Honor_**

            "Ring around the rosies, a pocket full of posies … a tissue, a tissue! We all fall down…"

That old nursery rhyme echoed within Ky's mind, like a demon given the guise of childhood memories in order to torment him. He remembered the rhyme originated from a time when the Grim Reaper stalked the world as the mysterious Black Death, when people dropped dead in the streets like flies for no apparent reason and so was all the more frightening, and neither ignorant man nor uncaring God seemed able to do anything about it.

_We all fall down._

They all fell down. The Thing was too powerful for them. Rock and Hotaru and Dizzy and Ky could do nothing against something that was pure hatred and annihilation. _Give up,_ the world seemed to tell them. Their powers were simply too small to defeat the deceit and lies that the darkness embodied. _Give up._

"No," Ky murmured.

_Give up._

The Thing rose above them, a Black Death come again to the world to claim them all.

_Give up…_

Rock and Hotaru managed to hold hands, smiling despite their coming end.

_Give up…_

Ky closed his eyes wearily.

_"Akiramenai!"___

Her blue hair undone and flying in the wind unrestrained, Dizzy stood alone and frail and helpless against the Thing. In her hands was _Furaiken_, the Seal of Thunder glowing faintly, the lightning sword crackling with power.

And Ky began to hope once more.

"I won't give up! I won't give up!"

Her crimson eyes blazed with fire, flames not of her Gear nature but flames of her _human_ nature.

"I absolutely won't give up!"

So far away, surrounded by the wildly cheering girls celebrating their momentous victory, even as the _Vengeance_ prepares to dock with the Death Star, Yuuki stirs.

Her words from the past echo back to her, spoke by another girl with the same fervor and hope and innocence and passion, the crux of a messiah.

_I won't give up. I won't give up. I absolutely won't give up!_

"I absolutely won't give up," she murmured back.

Within her world and without it, The Will And The Word awakens.

            "_Mezamete__, Dizzy.__ Awaken and claim what is truly yours…"_

_Whoa-oh! Oh Angel!!_

.

            "Awaken, Dizzy. Awaken NOW."

The golden orb of lightning energy that materialized around her like a protective shell annihilated the nearest tentacles. The Thing reared back and howled in pain, truly injured this time. Within, the blue-haired half-Gear girl recited the final words to effect her transformation.

With a thunderclap of magical energy, the orb expanded and then broke apart.

Battle robes of the Holy Order clung to her slim body, its white folds of cloth bordered by metallic gold trim. Twin yellow ribbons decorated her long blue hair, holding them captive into her two ponytails. Upon her waist hung a silver belt buckle, and upon that buckle was one engraved word: INNOCENCE.

The mark of the mysterious power that is The Will And The Word.

She was no longer just Dizzy.

She was the Divine Messiah Gear.

She was.

            The Thing attacked.

The energy wall broke its first attack. Dizzy didn't even make an effort to move or attack.

The Thing attacked her again.

She shattered its second attack completely with one single Angel Lightning.

The Thing reformed itself, but took time to do so.

Dizzy lifted _Furaiken_ high into the air and let its shining length reach up to the sky.

"The Will And The Word."

The Thunderseal came down.

_"Tenchu."___

            A blinding flash…

Another turn of the page…

"In general, in battle one endures through strength and gains victory through spirit… When the heart's foundation is solid, a new surge of _ch'i_ will bring victory."

                                                                                                              **Dale Brown, _Fatal Terrain_**

            Ky cradled Dizzy in his arms. Rock and Hotaru hovered at his side.

"Dizzy?"

She opened her eyes. "Is the bad thing gone?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "You made it go away."

She smiled back. "It's good."

"Yeah."

Then Dizzy slept.

_Whoa-oh! Oh Angel!!_

_Come greet the dawn, it's a brand new day!_

_Whoa-oh! Oh Angel!!_

_Let burn the passion that fires your soul!!_

_Each lonely night I get through without you becomes my victory_

_Each empty night I fight against the light that is my destiny_

_Yet, I know that having might don't mean you're right_

_I can't be both cruel and kind!_

_When nothing makes sense I look up at the clouds in the sky_

_They don't answer but I still ask why..._

_Stand tall, you won't fall!_

_Even a wolf gets away_

_Now and then run into the sun_

_Sharpen your claws, bare your fangs and go on!_

_People do fall in love_

_Though they may swear that the pain won't let go_

_Forevermore_

_I'll burn the flame of your dreams in my soul!_

_Whoa-oh! Oh Angel!!_

_Come greet the dawn, it's a brand new day!_

_Whoa-oh! Oh Angel!!_

_Let burn the passion that fires your soul!!_

            Aboard the U.P.P. _Vengeance:_

"Shouldn't that have been Terry who saved the day? Since it was, after all, the English ending song for the _Fatal Fury_ OVA? Or at least Rock?"

"Riel…"

"Oh, crap! No! Taka! Please! Not in the groin, not in the–"

**BANG.**

"Welcome home, Taka," greeted Plave happily. "Now we're complete, we can go on with our mission!"

"Just_ what_ is our mission, Plave?" the ex-Sega Black Ops commando/assassin/gunslinger/ninja asked his captain.

"I– err, I mean, we need an original copy of _Super Robot Wars MX!"_

"There's one in Virra Mall at Greenhills…"

"Right! Helmsman Riel–"

"…"

"Oh, yeah, you just shot him, Taka. Medic!" Plave called.

The entire lighting system for the bridge of _Vengeance_ went off all of a sudden– save for one pool of light, within which was a sinister man in glasses and doctor's coat who kind of reminded everyone of scary predatory doctors who prey on nurses in H-games.

"Indeed, dearies," the man said in a sinister voice that impressed Sho Tsuzuku, "I think a physical examination is called for, ladies."

All the girls scream and blush and run like hell with the doctor in pursuit.

"Uh, oh, the Doctor seemed to have gotten too much ADV exposure…"

            "The Will And The Word. The ability to alter reality –everything we conceive and move within– by summoning a state of existence conceived by the wielder and then by force of will and power bringing that alternate reality to life. In layman's terms: 'What the wielder wants to happen _shall_ happen.' Closest approximations to this power would be the 'Gate of Discernment' of Kageyama Reiji/Shadow/Nazo and the 'Marble Phantasm' of Arcuied Brumstead. However, the level to which The Will And The Word can be exerted to is suggested to be _unlimited_, surpassing the previous.

"The Will And The Word is originally inherent upon only one being: The young Filipino author, the so-called Journeyman. Sheo Darren. A weaker version is known to be wielded by Yuuki Darren, Sheo's 'daughter'. Further expansion of this power are the mind trick used by the corrupted Person With Many Aliases in _The Keeper of the System_ and the power that brings forth the 'Divine Messiah Gear' Dizzy in _Revolution: It's Not What It Seems. _However, only Sheo seems to have full command and control of The Will And The Word.

"As its true bearer, Sheo is perhaps the most powerful being in this dimension. Indeed he may be considered to be God, though he himself denies this. However, due to self-imposed moral constraints, he has intentionally limited his use of The Will And The Word. Sheo reportedly disappeared after the last battle against Samael Tsuzuku in _The__ Wedding Night 2._ Unconfirmed rumors state that he has been seen in _The Misadventures of Ky Kiske_.

"Therefore, the only remaining bearer of The Will And the Word in this dimension is Yuuki Darren…"

The girl tossed the Newtype Magazine aside.

"So, Yuuki-_chan_ is the only one with The Will And The Word, eh?"

She smiled evilly. With only a thought and a will, she consigned the magazine into nothingness.

            **_Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven._**

            Glasses glint in the fading light.

This woman had The Will And The Word, too.

"You've just been outdated, Yuuki-_chan_."


	5. The Dark

**Previously in _The__ World Within And Without…_**

_            "The Will And The Word. The ability to alter reality –everything we conceive and move within– by summoning a state of existence conceived by the wielder and then by force of will and power bringing that alternate reality to life. In layman's terms: 'What the wielder wants to happen shall happen'…_

_"The Will And The Word is originally inherent upon only one being: The young Filipino author, the so-called Journeyman. Sheo Darren…_

_"As its true bearer, Sheo is perhaps the most powerful being in this dimension… Sheo reportedly disappeared after the last battle against Samael Tsuzuku in _The Wedding Night 2_. Unconfirmed rumors state that he has been seen in _The Misadventures of Ky Kiske_._

_"Therefore, the only remaining bearer of The Will And the Word in this dimension is Yuuki Darren…"_

_The girl tossed the Newtype Magazine aside._

_"So, Yuuki-chan is the only one with The Will And The Word, eh?"_

_She smiled evilly. With only a thought and a will, she consigned the magazine into nothingness._

            **Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.**

_            Glasses glint in the fading light._

_This woman had The Will And The Word, too._

_"You've just been outdated, Yuuki-chan."_

**Guilty Gear**

**The World Within And Without**

**Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**Overseen By:** Yuuki Darren

**Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

_For **Person With Many Aliases**, who thought this entire premise up. Enjoy._

**CHAPTER ZERO FOUR**

**The Dark**

            Zappa –plucky Australian slash unwilling medium for vengeful ghosts of all colors and shapes and sizes, the unluckiest man in _The World Within And Without_, and _Guilty Gear_'s resident 'nutcase'– was not having a good day.

We do not have to say anymore how this kind of introduction will screw up everything for said person, _The Wedding Night 2_ or otherwise.

            "Yuuki-_chan_?"

"_Haii__,_ Loki-_kun_?"

"Why do you always begin new story arcs with the same general paragraph? I mean, this is the _same_ opening Sheo used to begin chapters in _The Wedding Night 2_."

"Don't ask me that. Sheo did it for a reason only he knows. I'm just following his example."

"Don't you have originality and creativity as part of your personality complex?"

"There's something called tradition, Loki-_kun_."

            Anyway, Zappa was having a terrible horrible no good very bad day.

            "Why is it that the last seven words sound too organized to be extemporaneous?"

"They're from a _Newberry Award_ book; I've forgotten what the name is. Ah, _Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day._ Yes, that's it. People who went through seven or eight years of depraved Jesuit mental tortu– err, I mean, excellent Jesuit education at Ateneo de Manila Grade School know that. One of their Reading books has that story in abbreviated form."

"Do you have anything against the Jesuits?"

"No and neither does Sheo. In Ateneo, it's just the norm to make jokes at Jesuits' expense."

"Bad Yuuki."

"Would you rather have me a docile little lamb like Reiya?"

Yuuki meant the tart remark as a joke, the description being appropriate since the alternate persona of Freya _did_ act like a kid (one can argue the point that Reiya _was_ a kid or point out that she was also a Goddess, but we digress).

Loki turned away.

            "_Gomennasai__._"

Yuuki meant her apology. She'd seen how Loki was devoted to the innocent Reiya, how he looked over her as a brother would. She knew how he had once loved her as his demon god identity when she was the beautiful Norse Goddess of Love.

And maybe the demon detective still loved her despite everything between him and That Girl.

"Would you like to go to dinner with me?" It was time for fence mending, and not just with Loki. "You can bring Reiya, too. I'd like to get to know her better."

Loki smiled briefly and said, "Reiya would like that."

"Then it's settled," Yuuki told him with a smile of her own. "My treat."

"Thanks, Yuuki. You're not too bad."

"I know."

Did she really mean that?

Did she know for herself?

Even as they left, Yuuki felt– no. She _knew_ that she and Loki would never be the same, never again…

            The day already had hints of the terror it would unleash when Zappa woke up and fell off his bed.

Per superstition, it was the _wrong_ side of his bed.

He had fallen asleep with bubblegum in his mouth. It was now in his hair, defying all efforts to take it off without tearing away the hair it was attached to. Zappa gave up and grabbed at his alarm clock instead, which had been ringing like an American high school's bell's painful sound for five minutes already. He got electrocuted by static charge for his efforts. When he had regained consciousness –and when his body's nervous system had stopped twitching uncontrollably from electrical damage, he groggily walked into the bathroom– and promptly slipped on a soap bar, smashing into a mirror (adding seven more years to his already long streak of bad luck) and right through the wall so that his head was sticking into his neighbor's bedroom. Said neighbor was a girl, in her underwear, somehow produced a sledgehammer out of her skimpy lingerie, and currently reacted the way a girl would if someone broke into her room while she was changing clothes. When the world stopped hurting so much, Zappa found his head buried into a wall again and his eyes staring at yet another person who was almost nude.

The guy happened to be Potemkin.

When he'd stopped barfing into the toilet –and after he had stuffed a lot of cotton into his nose to cut off the bleeding courtesy a Magnum Opera (but the Zepp's IK was nothing compared to the girl's blow from earlier)– Zappa remembered that he had an appointment with Faust that day. There were no contenders for the slot; no one wanted free healing at the hands of the mad doctor, if you could call his 'services' as 'healing'.

The much-awaited session was a disappointment, not to mention a disaster. The only thing Faust had done was to stick a thermometer up Zappa's ass– or was that his scalpel disguised as a thermometer? Anyway, it hurt. Like hell. Like the time when those frat guys had picked on him a long time ago. To add injury to injury:

"You're perfectly normal, Mister Zappa!"

Faust had then smacked Zappa's's still sore ass (making it much more painful in the process) and promptly threw the poor man out of his office and slammed the dimensional door on him.

That was when S-Ko had had enough and decided a stress-relieving rampage was in order.

When Zappa regained consciousness for the fourth time in the day, he found himself inside a dingy dungeon cell, a tattered striped prisoner's uniform replacing his usual clothes, his arms held in manacles of steel, his left leg sporting a big iron ball and chain, and a rat chewing on the bubblegum in his hair.

Make that several rats.

Fortunately, his ghost trio happened to be experts at breaking out of jail. Experts in their own stupid bumbling clumsy way, having had lots of experience dating back to the times they were alive. No, they weren't convicts who broke out of prison, but they _were_ comedians who had one time or another portrayed convicts breaking out of prison through ways unimaginable and completely asinine. The only ones stupider than them there were the cops, who were all blonde Keystone cops.

The thing is, Zappa emerged through the tunnel excavated by means of spoon and toothpick and screw, only to find intense blackness– wait, there was a bright light in front of him, approaching him quickly even as a deafening roar swelled up to make him like he was in a train wreck.

It _was_ a train wreck. Think _Little Nicky._

We can go on and relate how our poor Australian woke up in a hospital, broke out, had an accident again, woke up again and found himself in the same mental institution where that hero from _Seven Days_ came from, et cetera, et cetera. But it would be pointless and extremely cruel, although it certainly would be funny in a twisted way.

Anyway, it was night already, Zappa felt like all his bones had been ground to powder and his muscles turned to jelly, the works.

Oh, and did we mention that he wasn't in control of his body again?

            Followers of Blackheart ZERO's _The Incredibly Zany Guilty Gear Story_ may remember that at one chapter –specifically, – the ghosts had, through the aid of a cardboard box restyled as a transporter machine, switched places with Zappa so that all of them could come out at the same time. They then launched an attack on the enemy of all who loved good cartoon shows on NBC: The dreaded executive/executor Michael Eisner.

That battle –technically a victory for the ghosts– was in _Star Wars_ terms, Episode One. Episode Two takes place right about…

…Now.

            Like all traditional megalomaniac villains before him, Michael Eisner laughed sadistically, his cold uncaring ruthless laughter rising over all the carnage and destruction around him even as he clutched his forehead in the manner of madmen– but he wasn't mad. No, he was just maniacally evil, the M. Bison-type– no, Eisner was worse than M. Bison, far worse.

_Unlike_ all heroes –in her case, heroines– before her (and considering that she wasn't a hero or heroine at all), S-Ko didn't glare at him. There was plenty of time for _that_ later. It was, after all, only a one-shot attack. An Instant Kill, yes; a one-hit-wonder attack, yes– but still, she had only one such shot. She had to make it count.

"Die, Eisner!" hissed the ghost girl who died romantically deprived. "You do not belong on this network."

"It was not by my will that I came here," calmly countered Eisner. "I was brought in by the NBC Board of Directors, who wished to have their station's revenues increase!"

"Revenues?" S-Ko was outraged. "You take perfectly good shows like _Futurama__,_ and throw them into the gutter!"

"The same can be said of all network executives," Eisner sneered.

"Your words are as empty as your station's audience seats! Television viewers ill need such an executive such as you!"

"WHAT IS TELEVISION?" The evil NBC executive loomed like the proverbial cumulonimbus thunderhead that is a Florida hurricane. "MERELY SOMETHING TO ENTERTAIN THE LAZY MASSES WITH MEXICAN TELENOVELAS! BUT ENOUGH TALK!" Throwing away the glass of wine in his hand, Eisner yanked the front of his business suit open. "HAVE AT THEE!"

From the dark cavity of alternate dimensional unreality that was the innards of the monster that was Michael Eisner sprang multitudes of horrible creations: Bambi! The reworked versions, all stumbling cutely towards S-Ko, feared by all ghost girls who had died unhappy with their romantic lives!

"Do you think the same trick will work on me?" S-Ko scoffed at the advancing army of fawns. "I can destroy them all with one blow!"

Eisner laughed. "But I know your power, S-Ko! Your attack might be able to kill anything and anyone who looks into your cursed eye, but you can do it only once a day! It is, after all, an _Instant Kill!_ And once you have used it, you cannot use it again immediately! The advantage is with me!"

"Let us see," S-Ko returned coldly.

Eisner put on black glasses that would prevent S-Ko's attack from affecting him.

The army of Bambi attacked.

S-Ko parted her hair to reveal her demon eye.

All the Bambi fell over cutely and died.

Eisner laughed, threw his glasses away, and gathered his demonic power to destroy S-Ko in one massive blast.

S-Ko grinned and turned her evil eye upon Eisner.

"That will not–"

_            There is a glen. In the glen, there is a well. Out of the well crawls a girl with long black hair and in white clothes. The girl crawls toward you slowly, surely, slithering snake-like, a cold-blooded reptile stalking its prey. The girl pushes free of the television screen and staggers to her feet before you. She parts her hair to reveal an eye._

_You die._

_Before you die, you see…_

_The Ring.___

            S-Ko stood over the lifeless body of Michael Eisner, victorious. Her vengeance was complete.

Behind her, all the Bambi stir and rise from their 'deaths'. S-Ko smiled chillingly at them, making them shiver uncontrollably. A hand rose as if to tip nonexistent glasses up her nose. She caught herself midway into the gesture, smiled even more wickedly, and then asked:

"Did you have a good dream?"

            **_Jagan_** (lit. 'Evil Eye')_: _Special power of Mido Ban from _Getbackers_. An attack that requires direct eye contact with target in order to work, it creates illusions inside the target's/s' mind/s for one minute. A person hit by the _Jagan_ once cannot be affected again by that move for one day. Ban can only cast it thrice a day, but it is an effective way to immobilize the enemy_._ (**Newtype**** Magazine **circa AD 2001**)**

            NBC lay in ruins. Its personnel were dead or scattered. Its leader was dead. The great evil was vanquished. Their mission is done.

Ghost Dog. The Three Ghosts. Bloody Sword. Raoh.

S-Ko.

They turned to leave.

There is a sound.

It was a chime that should not be, pervading through the doom of the battle and the crackle of the fires somehow. It is the faint tinkling of metal upon metal, artificial unnatural sound that nature could not– _would_ not do, for it went against the very idea of what was natural.

It could only have one maker, one source.

Man.

But who could it be?

The ghosts turned around.

They saw her.

            She seemed to have come out of the very night itself, as if she was of the impenetrable multitude of shadows thrown haphazardly about by the flaming ruin of what had been one of the largest American TV networks to exist. She was of a small stature not unlike those of Asians, but her pale white milky complexion was more fitting a Westerner. She was both slim and strong like the bamboo of the Philippines, deceptively slender yet famously resilient, graceful and beautiful. Her sundress reached halfway down her hips, modestly provocative in the way it clung to her fitly trim frame, its hem drifting with the slightest of winds that blew to cleanse the smoke and flames away from this little plot of Hell on Earth, a false promise of peace in the midst of war's playground. Her hair was midnight ebon, cut so short to give her a boyish appearance especially at a distance, a few black bangs hanging down her forehead, a mysterious border to the youthful pretty face it cradled.

Glare from the fires all around them reflected off a pair of eyeglasses, and then the light faded enough to reveal her eyes.

S-Ko fell back despite herself.

_Those eyes…_

They were black, too, blacker than the ghost girl she confronted, blacker than a starless moonless night, blacker than the nonexistent soul of Samael Tsuzuku, her pupils were twin lit reflections of her innermost being: Utter darkness.

Utter evil.

But there was no such malevolence around her as there had been for the late legendary villain. Her aura was different. It wasn't 'evil' as one understood the idea. Neither was it 'good'. It was…

It just _was_.

Or was it?

Zappa's other ghosts all hovered around their leader expectantly, wary of the newcomer, awaiting their orders on this potential foe.

But S-Ko hesitated. "Who are you?" she asked. "Who are you?"

The girl smiled.

"Thirty."

           _"Thirty is a term journalists use to denote 'The End'. Finis. _Kaput_._Ang katapusan.Tsuzuku_ (and no, we do not mean any of the three people who bear that last name). It is slang, of course, sounding mysterious to the uninitiated though it is but simple fact to the familiar._

_"Like me," Sheo Darren said._

_"Like you," he told Yuuki._

_"And," he finished, looking at the other topic of debate, "Like her."_

_"Shouldn't it be–"_

_"Yuuki, I never though to call her anything aside from 'her'. She is, after all, human despite herself. Right?"_

**_Right…_**

            The girl's eyes blazed utter opal. Lines dark as she herself was materialized from beneath her, bending at ninety-degree angles, never curving, always maintaining their geometric rigidity, snaking their sheer crisscross paths like ground-borne black lightning towards the startled ghosts.

S-Ko had only time for one scream.

Then everything was black.

            "Yuuki?"

In the middle of their surprisingly normal and peaceful dinner at a plush restaurant in the commercial area of the Death Star, Yuuki had suddenly come straight off her chair and stood ramrod straight, staring at something before her that no other could –save one special person, of course, _him_ and a handful of special people just like _him_.

"That power..." That Girl gasped to herself. "That power is–"

            "The Will And The Word."

S-Ko tried to get up. She failed. Her entire body hurt like hell. She did manage to open one of her eyes to helplessly glare at the girl.

The bitch actually had the gall to **_smile_**!

"Take care, Megumi," she coolly advised, not meaning any of the warmth in what she said. "We'll be meeting again, I assure you. Until then, enjoy."

And then the girl turned around and walked away and vanished.

The woman who was once Megumi Sadako wanted to scream. Her pain got the better of her, though. Her whole body hurt. She got to get medical attention or something, she felt like she was dying. Which was a joke, really, since she was dead and couldn't feel pain anymore–

_Wait…_

_I can't feel anything from my body anymore. I _am_ dead. So how am I in pain?_

_"Masaka…"_

There were a thousand thousand sensations running through her, all demanding her attention at once. There was the feeling of sweat on her forehead, of lungs pumping air in and out of her chest, of gravel and dust upon her fingers, of the soft cotton that was her tattered dress plastered upon her skin. It all seemed a dream. She was alive again.

She didn't believe it, not yet. But one thing would tell her if all this was true.

She held her hand over her chest, fearing what she might not find– and what she just _might_.

Where there had been empty silence long ago, there was now the regular thumping of her beating heart

She was alive.

Megumi Sadako was alive again.

_The others?_She stared at the other ghosts.

Ghost Dog was no longer a vicious emaciated mongrel whose bite attacks were unblockable. He was a cute little puppy dog.

The three stooges weren't their wispy Casper-like forms. They did cackle like the stupid oafs they once had been– and which they were once more: Larry, Curly and Moe.

And Raoh…

"Eh? What am I doing here?"

That was a spiky-haired blonde wearing a big green vest and cargo shorts talking. "Ban-_chan_? Ban-_chan_?"

"Amano Ginji," groaned S-Ko at the sight of the Thunder Emperor of the Infinite Fortress. She didn't see the Bloody Sword around and wondered what it turned into. A Gillette Razor?

"Hello, Ginji-_kun."_

Ginji turned the color of milk when he heard that familiar purr from behind him.

Kurodo Akabane a.k.a. Doctor Jackal (officially, Dr. Jekyll, but the Japanese suck at pronouncing English words and names) waved carelessly at his favorite target, smiling his deceptively sunny smile as he always did even when filling someone with a dozen knives or cutting him apart with a sword. "_Ohayou__."___

Ginji turned into his Tare SD mode in fear. "Ban-_chan__,_ I'm going to die soon…"

S-Ko groaned again. What a stupid development.

"Uh, excuse me?"

That was Zappa, just returned from the alternate dimension where the ghosts had earlier stuffed him into and who was quite curious why there was a bunch of weird people and a puppy dog here in this battlefield. He had gone over to the most harmless-looking of the bunch, the girl sitting on the ground staring around as if in a daze.

His world stopped turning for one brief moment, but to him it felt like a lifetime.

She was beautiful. This girl was beautiful, the way the long black tresses of her hair were draped upon her delicate Oriental face, the way her eyes reflected the light, the way she seemed so alone and helpless in the midst of the chaos, her confusion at his presence and reaction adding to her charm magnificently. In all ways she was perfect. Her sheer forlorn loveliness made his heart stop.

Of course, there was also the arrow buried in his back, its shaft ending precisely where his heart was, _chibi_ Faust fluttering away on _chibi_ wings what with his work for the night done. Romance was exactly what the doctor ordered– and this time, it was actually perfect.

S-Ko was very much startled when Zappa fell before her upon one knee and said, "You are beautiful."

She blushed despite her romantically-adverse nature. S-Ko had died more than a century ago because of an accident, but during those times she _did_ have a boyfriend during those days. A rather lazy bum whose musical taste was horrid and who looked like his favorite rocker–or was it heavy metal? She couldn't remember anymore, but that Brit twerp Zappa met once or twice before reminded her all too much of her unsavory fiancé. She'd fallen head over heels for him, but when she needed him and loved him the most, he just wasn't there. He wasn't there to save her from death. He wasn't even there to put flowers on her grave. He was lucky on that point; if he had visited, S-Ko would have killed him then and there, ex or no ex at all.

But now? Now she was alive again. She had been given a second chance at life all because of that girl.

Something told her not to be too happy at this development, that there were deeper and darker things to this matter than what she beheld right now. The ocean hid its greatest secrets within its azure abyss until the right time to spring all of its horrors loose upon the unsuspecting surface world came. So it was with this, her inner self said. Her old self, the one called S-Ko, warned against all of this. _Trust nothing,_ the old her hissed.

_Trust no one._

But right now, none of that mattered.

Right now, all that mattered were Zappa, herself, and the fateful question.

Right now, she wasn't S-Ko.

"Will you marry me?"

And to her surprise, the woman who once was –and now was, once more– Megumi Sadako found herself happily answering, "Yes."

            It was a limp and distant Yuuki who sank back into her chair almost as if her legs could not carry her any more, as if her entire skeleton had turned to rubber on her. The worried Loki fussed over her. Even Reiya was concerned.

"Yuuki? Yuuki?"

"_Doshite__?__ Daijoubou, _Yuuki?"

Her blue eyes were wide open.

"Something..."

"What?"

Yuuki was grim.

"Something wicked this way comes."

            "I don't really know what to say," the silly-looking man admitted to his improbable audience, "But I'll try to say it as best as I can." He sighed and bowed his head deeply.

"I'm sorry."

He was in a cemetery, standing before a simple grave decorated with a single bouquet of flowers. The name on the tombstone was in Japanese lettering, _Hiragana._ It was his girlfriend's final resting place.

It had been a long time enough since he had been here. It was his first time to be with her since her funeral, actually. He wasn't with her when she had the accident that sent her into critical state. He wasn't there either when she was undergoing intensive surgery, or at the moment when she finally let go of the living world, or at the moment her body was being laid into the ground. He had only arrived when it was too late.

And the worst part of it was that it wasn't his fault– but no one believed him.

"For all I've never been– and all I'll never be," he added softly to the deceased who might be listening, "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, Megumi."

He stood there for a minute, sighed again and then began to turn away for the long walk home.

            There is a sound.

            "Axl Lowe?

"Yeah, that's me. What can I do for you, Miss?"

"It's not what you can do for me, but what _I_ can do for _you_."

"Eh? Excuse me?"

"Do you want her back? Your fiancée?"

That was the last thing he thought he'd ever hear.

"What? How did you know?"

"I know a lot of things. How she died, how you weren't there."

Axl stared in shock at the stranger.

"And I know," came the offer he could not resist, "A way to be with her at last."

After a moment of silent contemplation, he said:

"Tell me how."

The girl smiled.

"I was hoping," she said softly, sinisterly, "That you'd say that."

A black portal opened up beneath them, and then the duly terrified Axl promptly sank into it in the way a sponge would slowly take in water before it finally lost buoyancy and go under for good.

He did manage to surface three times, just like in _Baywatch._

"Aw, crap–"

That was the first.

"–Not–"

This is the second.

"–Again!"

And the last time before the liquid murk completely covered his face and his head, and it went totally still, smooth as glass.

The girl began to laugh, pausing long enough to murmur one ominously recognizable word voiced out so familiarly and easily.

"_Omake__._"


	6. The Person Centric View

**Previously in _The__ World Within And Without…_**

_             "Will you marry me?"_

_And to her surprise, the woman who once was –and now was, once more– Megumi Sadako found herself happily answering, "Yes."_

_            Yuuki was grim._

_"Something wicked this way comes."_

_            There is a sound._

_            The girl began to laugh, pausing long enough to murmur one ominously recognizable word voiced out so familiarly and easily._

_"Omake."___

**Guilty Gear**

**The World Within And Without**

**Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**Overseen By:** Yuuki Darren

**Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

_For **Person With Many Aliases**, who thought this entire premise up. Enjoy._

**CHAPTER ZERO FIVE**

**The Person-Centric View**

            Person With Many Aliases –crazy Canadian author a.k.a. The Keeper Of The System, the biggest pet peeve of the greatest fan of Queen, and just recently recovered from his fit of insanity back at his own fan fiction world– was in bliss.

No, he's not getting married (although _that_ would be the only thing that could make him exceed his happiness quotient right now). Zappa is. But the basis of this arc is indirectly Person's brainchild. It was him, after all, who asked in one of his reviews if he can be the guy who marries Zapap and S-Ko. So, in the end, he got what he subconsciously wanted but never really expected to get. Kind of like a last minute drop-off by Santa Claus to a kid who'd stopped believing in him.

There are several kinds of people that God pities. One group is those who **_don't_** get what they want. No explanation needed; only consolation is accepted.

Another group is those who **_do_** get what they want– that is, they bite off **_far much more_** than they can chew.

And the third group is those who have the luck to be selected as feature characters in Sheo Darren humor stories. You have been warned.

But Person was feeling what the folks down at Detroit, Michigan, were experiencing circa late June 2004, a state of mind also known as 'NBA Championship Victory Fever'. He was very happy with himself, with his girlfriend, with the story developments and with _The World Within And Without._

Mind, he had only recently come back from an especially bad bout of insanity. Person was always prone to fits like these, but this one was the worst ever. That time, he had gone completely out of his mind, holing up in the reality he was responsible for so that he could turn every _Guilty Gear _character into plushie toy versions of themselves. His twisted 'reason': To rid the world of beings who go against nature's logical order. Since all of the people were, in one way or another, violations of this code –examples being a half-Gear girl with two talking wings and a tail, a _bishie_ Brit boy who cross-dresses as a nun and summons a teddy bear through yoyos, a bratty pirate girl who was Japanese but (quote) 'who will not throw fireballs' (unquote), and the Ultimate Flamin' Bad-Ass Amongst All Flamin' Bad-Asses– Person quite **_il_**logically decide to wipe them all out.

Naturally the other Authors were concerned by these developments. They had tried to deal with the madman by capturing and sending him to his room (a punishment whose connotations are just too mysteriously terrible to discuss in full). But he managed to escape back to his World. In order to prevent anyone from interfering with his world's purification, Person had 'locked' his dimension against all other Authors, an endeavor earlier pioneered by a fellow Author whose identity and efforts will be discussed another time. Thus the Keeper of the System began his demented mission with frightening effect.

But while the Authors could not penetrate the forbidding set, their _assistants _could. Takane Hibiki, the girlfriend of Lone Wolf SIX, bravely entered Person's world to gather all the surviving _GG_ fighters into a united front against the rogue Author insanity. In the momentous battle between them and the Keeper of the System, against all odds, Person was defeated.

The Authors had a field day repairing the damage their insane compatriot had done to his world, not to mention the damage Person did to himself. But Makijina Mina and her loving care (**_especially_** her loving care) proved invaluable in his sanity's recovery. Pretty soon, Person was back to his usual self… much to the hidden but restrained dismay of his fellows, who had rather hoped for a bit more time to enjoy the peace and quiet. The first thing he'd done on being discharged was to go deliver an announcement to all the Authors that he was reformed, had a clean bill of mental health, and ready to start anew.

Unfortunately, Sol Badguy got to him first.

The fiery battle between Guilty Gear and crazy Canadian had destroyed a hill, three plains, two towns, and was on the verge of demolishing a city before it was curtailed by the totally unexpected appearance of a detachment of the Special Dimensional Defense Force (SDDF). Recently formed by Yuuki Darren, the SDDF was comprised of members of the Anti-Sho Tsuzuku Task Force and Sheo Darren's harem, tasked to keep the peace in _The World Within And Without_. Agents-on-theater Fio Germi (_Metal Slug),_ Ciel (_Shingetsudan__ Tsukihime)_ and Karinka (_Steel Angel Kurumi)_ broke up the fight before it escalated into local nuclear mayhem. It helped that Fio brought along her monster Metal Slug tank, Ciel was basically immortal and possessor of the powerful weapon Seventh Seal, and Karinka was a 'Dual Heart' Steel Angel unit.

But what decided things were that the three were among the favorite characters of Sheo Darren. In Sheo's dimension, the girls he liked were immune to anything unless plot devices beckoned– and even then, the full wrath and horror of the author would descend upon the offending party faster than thought and with the combined might of Narusegawa Naru and Tendo Akane's punch. Yes, Sheo might be gone– but, in the best tradition of his hero General Douglas McArthur, he promised that "I shall return". No one wanted to up his timetable too early by disturbing a hair on his girls' heads.

And if anyone wanted to try and see if Sheo would really come back, there was always Yuuki to take things up with first. And when you tangle with Yuuki, you also have to deal with Loki, Reiya, Sheo's whole harem, the SDDF, and various assortments of people and weapons best to be duly avoided like the measles.

Oh, and did we forget to mention a little piece of the Author named Rheo Farren?

But we move on:

Person was happy. He was, to quote Dizzy for the nth time (readers, please say in tired voice: _Again?_) feeling "like a million dollars". He was feeling like a fan boy would when surrounded by a million cute girls from all the _hentai_ in the world, all clamoring for him to 'do them'. He was feeling like Sol did when with Kagura, like Ky with Dizzy, Rock with Hotaru, Yuuki with Loki (though there are currently problems to that last relationship), Dizzy and Hotaru–

            Startled, Lone Wolf SIX looked around him. He had felt a distinct malevolence directed in his direction just then, as if someone was glaring at him with enough force to rival an Optic Blast. As if a certain hyper-conservatively-prude Author was hovering just over his shoulder. With a chainsaw in hand. A bloody one.

"Brrr: I feel the chills."

Out of nowhere materialized Dark Chii. In Goth girl mode, too.

"Chii."

"Aaaaaaahhh! Hibiki! Cassandra! Save me!"

            –Athena and Justine–

            Asamiya Athena and Justine Harrier were two very unhappy girls at this moment.

"Athena _and_ Justine?" the Goddess girl began.

"Just _what_ do you mean by that?" continued the Gear girl.

**"_EH_?"** both girls shrilled simultaneously, shattering _paper_ cups at fifty paces.

Object of ire for the two girls was a Filipino porn salesman from (guess where?) Virra Mall (right!), whom they had caught red-handed as he was peddling porn CDs 'supposedly' featuring 'them' and lots of icky tentacles and even more (if that was possible) sex.

"Uh, um," tried the guy, "Miss, X?"

"Psyco Sword!"

"Halo Schneider!"

            You get the idea.

But suffice it to say that despite all that she can think of, Yuuki cannot expand this particular chapter without detracting upon the effect of the jokes upon the reader. So, she decided to cut the originally planned twenty-plus page chapter into two new chapters. The first half –this one– has all the humor. The second half will progressively darken in theme, but it will still end happy.

             Finger hovering over the keyboard, Yuuki realized what she had just accidentally revealed. "Crap, I shouldn't have given out that spoiler," she muttered before going on with the writing.

            Anyway, the rapid shifting of scenes and the doses of humor must be concluded in this one sentence. Person With Many Aliases –cute Korean archer girl Makijina Mina's boyfriend, the source of inspiration for this particular arc, and the chosen minister for the wedding ceremony of Zappa and Megumi– was very happy.

If he only knew what was coming. If he only knew, indeed…

            Megumi was nervous.

No, the story will no longer refer to events from the past that strike a parallel with events, scenes, people or emotions of the current chapter, and then follow up with either a mysterious or a snide knowing remark. We will not mention that Millia also felt nervous in her own wedding, and look what happened to them: Psycho magician girl and super shadow dude and a war in space. We won't mention Baiken's own crazy pre-wedding preparations, not even the irresistibly cute Chibi-Hibiki plushie toy that Bridget secretly harbors–

Lone Wolf SIX threatens: "QUATRE! GIVE ME THE OTHER PLUSHIE OF HIBIKI– OR DIE!"

Bridget whimpers: "God, I thought you _said _you wouldn't do this anymore?"

Yuuki notes in place of God: "Do you think I'm God or that I would really mean it, Quatre? Especially with you? Besides, _Revolution_'s Chapter 30 was an inspiration for the return of the original crazy meanness that started it all: Sheo's. It starts now."

Bridget wails: "Miss Yuuki, you have a mean streak. _Hidoi__ desu!_"

Worf says: "She has many admirable qualities– for a human…"

            But we really meant it this time. Honest. Fair dinkum (the last an Australian term that roughly means, 'No, it's true'.).

Anyway, Megumi was nervously waiting for her potential in-laws –Zappa's parents– to arrive. The future groom was doing his best to comfort his darling bride-to-bee, but the former S-Ko just would not have it; she felt like she would absolutely do badly and embarrass everyone involved to death, a feeling and state she absolutely _did not_ want to go back to nor to even think of.

"Don't you worry one bit, Meg." Zappa's term of affection for her was Meg, a contraction of Megumi. "My folks are nice chaps; odd ones, yes, but the nicest of them around. They'll take a liking to you easy as water."

"Still," the unnerved Japanese girl confided, feeling so lost and yet looking so beautiful even so. "I feel so nervous."

"Trust me, Meg. They'll like you."

"You sure?"

"Positively."

"Absolutely?"

"Really?"

"Honestly?"

"Undoubtedly."

"Truly?"

"Madly."

"Deeply?"

"Sincerely."

"_Honto__ ne?__ Ne?"_

"Fair dinkum, Meg," he solemnly promised, using his pet name for her. "Fair dinkum."__

Megumi smiled faintly. "I'm counting on that."

Then, a man crashed through the window.

Megumi was too shocked to scream.

Zappa laughed. "They're here!"

Grinning from ear to ear, the man easily picked himself up and dusted away the fragments of glass from his shoulder. He was somewhat blonde, very rugged in build, and had a rough but honestly handsome face. His spotted yellow safari shirt had the sleeves torn off for macho effect, while around his neck was an ornamental necklace of fangs of the sort natives from the Outback would make, and a worn hat. On his belt were a whip and the biggest knife Megumi had ever seen. All in all, he reminded the viewer of Indiana Jones, but he was not _that_ particular legend– just _another_ one.

The man also did not look in any way like the wimpy guy with nut-brown hair who wore a big pink heart and earrings and whose brief poked out of his pants and who walked upside-down when possessed.

"Dad!" Zappa exclaimed.

"Zappa!" The grinning man grabbed his son in a strong bear hug. "How ya doin', kiddo?"

"Great, just great!" Turning to his befuddled wife, Zappa introduced his father: "Meg, meet my dad, Crocodile Dundee."

Readers who are old enough or who remember him, please begin to laugh now. Further laughs to come soon, we promise.

The reunion between the unlikely tandem of father and son was very boisterous.

"Ye've grown the last bit I've seen you, kiddo! Why, you're up to my shoulder now!"

"So I have." Zappa then looked puzzled. "Where's Mother?"

"On her way– in fact," Crocodile Dundee made a pantomime of listening out there, "I think that's her."

There are gunfire, explosions, more gunfire and explosions, and then the other window to the room disintegrated as another person, this time a pony-tailed woman in a silver jumpsuit and bearing a still-smoking pair of big .45 automatics in both hands.

Megumi stared in shock.

Lara Croft gave her a look of curiosity as she holstered her guns. "What?" Catching sight of Zappa, she broke into a big smile and declared: "Zappy!"

"Mother!" Receiving a big hug from Lara, Zappa then gestured to Megumi. "Mother, this is my wife Megumi! Meg, this is my mom Lara, the person to whom I always write letters every single–"

Megumi fainted.

            Four distinctively noticeable British fighters –note: The word _men_ was purposely omitted for reasons to be shown later– were gathered together.

"Plans ready? Bill?"

"Lowe, I have no bloody damn idea why I'm doing this for you." Then: "That Uma Thurman broad better not be after me, else–"

"Yeah! Great! Eh, next. Fluid?"

"Thy Codec frequency is now mine, brother," followed by sinister laughter.

"Okay… and last but not the least: Bird Man."

"A boy like you should have many experiences…"

"And just what did _that_ mean?" the other three men went.

"Well, what do you think?"

"Man, I think you're one freaky dude."

"For once, Lowe, I agree."

"Concur, chaps."

"You guys…"

            When they managed to wake her up, Megumi needed three glasses of water, two sniffles of ammonia and a lot of fanning to fully regain her senses. She thus found herself the center of attention of two Australians and a Brit. To her relief, Zappa's parents were delighted to meet their son's girlfriend at last and very approving of her.

"You don't know how much that reassures me." Then Megumi paled a bit. "But I'm worried. Sheo Darren fan fictions have a nasty habit of wrecking wedding ceremonies with random mayhem. Who or what is going to keep things all right in _our_ wedding?"

Suddenly, the ceiling gave way as the being that smashed through the roof plunged through– and fell flat on his face, coughing on dust and plaster. The room's door then opened to admit a worried Mina Makijina and a third person none of them had seen before, a woman dressed in silky ebon with sections of her coal-black hair dyed red, a cute dog that looked like a cross between a King Charles Spaniel and a mongrel borne in her arms.

Mina rushed immediately to the side of the guy half-buried in chips of wood and paint. "Person! Are you okay?"

"Please don't add 'Buster Wolf' to that," answered the man in question.

"Barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark!!!!!!!" went the dog.

"Meeka, shut up!" the guy snapped.

"Don't be mean to puppy, brother," the third woman scolded him.

Muttering to himself, the Keeper of the System shrugged off injuries that would have incapacitated a lesser man, got up on his feet, and went into a superhero/_sentai_ pose that made Mina grimace, his sister Drake Mckine roll her eyes, Meeka barking noisily and all the others stare in incomprehension.

"Never fear! Person's here!"

            "My," Yuuki commented, "But that rhymed."

"Shouldn't that be, 'But **_you_** are what we're afraid of?" Loki asked jokingly.

Later, Loki opened his e-mail and got this message:

**I hate you. You are evil. Prepare for your doom. I am The One. I will have you destroyed. _Aku__, Zoku, San _(Murder Evil Now). Sincerely yours, PWMA**

On Yuuki's suggestion, Loki sent this as reply.

**And I'm Sheo Darren.**

The answer?

**Oh, my Mina!**

            From the top of the tower she stood upon as a hidden judge of the world within and without, the mysterious girl smiled.

"Fear: It begins."

            In the world of Fred Gallagher's _Megatokyo_, Largo suddenly stops.

"Largo-_sensei?__ Doshite?_ What is it?"

Largo turns grimly towards his class.

"It is evil."


	7. Blame Canada! Blame Canada!

**Previously in _The__ World Within And Without…_**

_            Muttering to himself, the Keeper of the System shrugged off injuries that would have incapacitated a lesser man, got up on his feet, and went into a superhero/sentai pose that made Mina grimace, his sister Drake Mckine roll her eyes, Meeka barking noisily and all the others stare in incomprehension._

_"Never fear! Person's here!"_

_            From the top of the tower she stood upon as a hidden judge of the world within and without, the mysterious girl smiled._

_"Fear: It begins."_

_            In the world of Fred Gallagher's Megatokyo, __Largo__ suddenly stops._

_"Largo-sensei?__ Doshite? What is it?"_

_Largo__ turns grimly towards his class._

_"It is evil."_

**Guilty Gear**

**The World Within And Without**

**Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**Overseen By:** Yuuki Darren

**Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

_For **Person With Many Aliases**, who thought this entire premise up. Enjoy._

**CHAPTER ZERO FIVE**

**Blame ****Canada****! Blame ****Canada****!**

            She watched intently as the converging Threads of Fate of her responsibility began to bring the people and places and times they held into the final Tapestry, waiting, biding the single defining moment of intervention that would be all that would matter. The girl was amused.

Black symbolically stood for elegance; thus, she could be said to be elegant, the way she appeared physically. Every square inch of her clothing and much of herself was of that single color, whether it was the sleek waterproof trench coat that reached nearly to her shins or the Police sunglasses the same shade of short coal-dark hair and youthfully lively eyes that seemed to dance of their own accord, the last a contrast against the image besought in the mind's eye by first sight. So was skin of a beautiful golden-brown shade, soft lips that needed no lipstick whatsoever, a sparkling smile, and the inner being that was her true self, a flame full of zest for life, passion unrelenting and unbridled, one of the most famous of her kind.

She is **_not_** who you might think she is.

After all, only the apple to nibble on was missing, and then this opening would be complete.

Mysteriously she holds her hand out to those before and below her, out of their sight as she was but they certainly not out of her heart and mind. In a distant way that seems to carry her faintly murmured words upon the even more ethereal wind, a voice as sweet and wonderful and honest marks the beginning of an end– and awakens the coming future.

"The lights are on, the curtain is up, and the stage is set."

            The wedding of Zappa and Megumi Sadako was a modest event insofar as it started out all right. The planners did all they could in order to break the paradigm that plagued all previous weddings in this fan fiction reality: Massive disasters that cut the ceremony short and cause random mayhem through what have you got. Everything seemed quite rosy in the beginning; indeed, 'modest' was a success.

But, as in all Sheo Darren fan fiction, what appears modest on the surface turns out to be the perfect storm.

            Person With Many Aliases was the ministering official. A controversial choice –what with the Keeper of the System not being a priest or minister of any kind, even more so when you consider he was practically nuts– but Megumi and Zappa had no qualms about qualifications, even more than happy to have a supporter of their pairing along. No one protested, partly because Person threatened to give dissenters the business end of the same stick that ticked off Sheo Darren long ago when it hit May in _Keeper_. The other half of deterrence was that Zappa's parents were not people to be trifled with, and neither were most of the others involved.

Some readers would, of course, note that in the end of _The Wedding Night_-style stories, all those formidable people involved would in the end matter little or none, since the antagonists were either really overconfident, obstinate or a mix of both. Just so you'd know.

Drake Mckine and Makijina Mina were the bridesmaids. Person's sister was perhaps the only female attendee dressed in black, and to compound matters further she still had sections of her hair dyed red. Not that the quirks detracted from her appearance; on the contrary, she looked quite striking and elegant, as different from her oddball brother as day and night could be. It was simply that the overall effect was to make her quite visible, like a sore thumb sticking out, though in this case the 'sore thumb' was very pretty. The same could be said for Mina, who was as appealing as ever in her billowing folds of her traditional Korean garb, but who stood out even more. The little critter that was her pet found a comfy perch on her shoulder, a situation that elicited envy on Person's part. Like, he could ever perch on Mina's shoulder and aim looks down the collar of her costume, just like a very pathetic fan boy–

            Yuuki Darren wasn't very much surprised or affected when an angry Person crashed into her workroom.

"I AM NOT A FAN BOY!"

"Right." The sarcasm literally dripped from That Girl's words, even as she kept a very neutral look on her face. "This comes from the same guy who drools over Bridget-Dizzy–"

"THAT WAS TRUE UNKNOWN!"

"–And the same guy who turned Dizzy and Jam into virtual slaves, chaining them to an oven in order to force them to bake a cake–"

"LONE WOLF AND QUATRE LIKED THAT!"

Bridget appeared momentarily to protest his infamous moniker, but Person promptly booted him back to May, where he should stay (again, rhyme). As if a crazy bandanna-wearing author had not blasted a cross-dressing girlie _bishie_ back to his wife five paces in front of her, Yuuki calmly continued:

"–and whipping girls in a manner reminiscent of dominatrix _hentai_–"

"THE ENDS JUSTIFY THE MEANS! I NEEDED A BIRTHDAY CAKE! FOR MY SISTER DRAKE!"

"No, they do not. But I'll give you this: Your last two sentences rhyme."

"YOU ARE TRYING TO DISTRACT ME, TO DIVERT MY ATTENTION!"

"And you threw Sheo to the Wolves once, not to mention sending Meeka on search-and-destroy mode against poor hapless girls. Consider this a late installment of justice."

"JUSTICE? WHAT IS JUSTICE?"

Justine Harrier appeared. "Someone called me?"

"You're supposed to say, 'My mission is genocide'," Yuuki corrected. She did not bother to point out _Castlevania__._

Person pointed to the Gear girl and accused: "AND YOU AND SHEO DARREN DARE IMPLY A _YURI_ RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HER AND ATHENA!"

Justine stared in horror at her creator, the latter who was looking very wide-eyed and childlike innocent at the allegation thrown her way. "You did?"

"Did I?" repeated Yuuki, pretending to be very guiltless.

"Yes, you did," Person said.

"Did I?"

"Yes, you did."

"Did I?"

"Can we stop ripping off _Nadesico__? _Besides, this is, after all, **_Guilty_**_ Gear,"_ Person pointed out.

"_Baka__ desu,_" the (mis)quoted Hoshino Ruri observed from the side. "You're all fools."__

            Anyway:

The position of best man was vacant, since Zappa didn't have many people to call friends, much less a selection of such to pick the 'best' of them from. Puppy (a very unimaginative name for the former Ghost Dog) was a dog, and a puppy at that. Selecting one of the Three Stooges was out of the question. As for Ginji and Akabane–

"You amuse me so much, Ginji-_kun_…"

"_Kowaii__ no… kowaii no…"_

–It would be the story of Ferdinand, the bull who'd rather smell flowers than fight matadors, especially one nasty obsessive knife-wielding semi-sexless matador in black.

Luckily Person had called upon Nik Hasta, who very happily and generously volunteered for the role. The same lack of a ring bearer –it appeared that 'S-Ko' and 'ring' were not exactly the most auspicious combinations of words around– was solved with Chibi Nik following his full-size version's example. The complication on that was that a disheveled Frodo Baggins had appeared out of nowhere and tried to take the wedding rings, babbling about how he was the rightful Ring Bearer and that he had to take them to Pampanga, Philippines, where he would toss them into Mount Pinatubo's gaping fissure to stop the evil mutant Sauron from _X-Men_.

"Shouldn't that be Mordor, Mount Doom and the Dark Lord Sauron?"

"I meant what I said," Frodo stubbornly insisted.

Person blasted him.

Aside from Ginji and Akabane, the Three Stooges were there as guests, the slapstick trio doing their best to act seriously but failing abominably and being quite funny while at it. And there was Person's pet dog Meeka and her new friend: Zappa's Ghost Dog, now bearing the new name of Doggie.

"You really though your pet's name over for quite a long time, did you?" Person had asked Zappa earlier. Credit for the drolly-bequeathed name, however, fell upon the unlikeliest of sources: Megumi. She'd always wanted a dog and always had the mind of a little girl on that particular subject matter.

Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee) and Lara Croft-Hogan were there to give their darling child away. Megumi was absolutely stunning in her wedding dress. All women are. But each woman carries her own brand of uniqueness to her wedding day, making it especially memorable for all concerned, the groom especially so.

Zappa took Megumi in hand.

Deciding to make things quick, Person broke with time-honored length and instead abbreviated his words: "Do you, Zappa, accept Megumi Sadako as your wife?"

"I do."

"Do you, Megumi, accept Zappa as your husband?"

"I do."

The traditional "And if anyone has just cause" was very deliberately ignored. Person theorized that it was always _that_ part that screwed up previous Sheo Darren weddings. Thus, by omitting it, he hoped to avoid the hassle typical of previous _The Wedding Night_ nuptials. The big smile that somehow showed despite his bandanna told everyone he believed the worst was past.

Person was wrong, though. It wasn't the "Just cause" part that screwed everything up. It was _during_ that part that everything got screwed up. You see, it wasn't that everyone and his brother were trying to mess with _The Wedding Night_ et al, or the comment "Just cause" responsible for all the damage. It was actually _the fan fiction_ _itself_ that intentionally started everything. The entire concept was, to put in one word, self-destructive. The story attacked itself and its participants. There was no stopping it; it was Fated to happen. Thus, one may begin to suggest that Fate and Her Handmaidens are the very ones who cause mischief in the worlds they are supposed to protect and preserve. Then again, what seems to us mischief and misery are just smaller parts of the whole story of our lives, much more so with the Tapestry of the Universal Fate.

We are led to wonder, and we do wonder. But wondering gets us nowhere. The only person who might be in a position to give an answer…

Well.

Let's just say that he's not dead. Just out of reach. For now.

Thus, in typical _The Wedding Night_ convention, Zappa and Megumi's wedding went to hell.

            "Fee, fie, foe, fum," sang a pleasantly wicked voice in the empty lot where she sat all alone, the words and tune that of the old children's fairy tale, "I smell the blood of Englishmen…"

            There was a cacophony of dramatic entrance music accompanying a flare of fireworks, a series of explosions, and a virtual cloud of smoke that obscured the entire grounds. It was totally unexpected and broke up the wedding quite effectively.

Zappa wrapped protective arms around the frightened Megumi, whose worst fears had just been given reality. Again, everything was devolving into chaos. Her husband's parents had arrayed themselves defensively before them, awaiting the attackers.

Six figures emerged from the murk. Their battle cries resound.

"Welcome to the jungle!"

"I will not let my _imouto_ fall into the hands of the Muay Thai ravisher."

"Hello, Brother…"

"A boy like you should have many experiences."

"I have a license to kill."

"Wendy, where are the paperwork I requested?"

The six intruders posed anew.

"We are those who will reaffirm the proper pronunciation and spelling in language! We are the defenders of the blessed English speech and the British Empire! We are those who will destroy the crazy Canadians for their stupid 'Canadian English'!

"Axl Lowe!" the _Guilty Gear_ fighter yelled.

"Billy Kane!" followed the _Fatal Fury_ stick warrior.

"Liquid Snake," pronounced the _Metal Gear Solid _villain.

"Eagle!" declared the _SNK_ guy.

"Bond," said the infamous Agent 007, "James Bond."

"Mister Carpenter," the final member, of _Read or Die,_ introduced himself. "Joker."

All six of them got into ridiculous poses a la _sentai_.

**"We are the Anglo-Saxon ****Alliance****!"**

"The what?" went everyone else.

"The Anglo-Saxon Alliance," Joker repeated, "Is the recently organized special operations arm of the British Empire. We are the strongest Englishmen ever to walk this world. Our mission is to destroy Canada, Canadians and their culture for giving the English language such a bad reputation. Canadian English, especially, suck! Canadians must die!"

"Blame Canada," sang the choir of mothers from _Southpark__, _"Blame Canada! Blame Canada!"

Nik looked around. There was no sign of Sol Badguy. Not yet.

"Hey," protested Axl, "What's with the anti-Canadian thing? I never agreed to that! I thought you were here to help me stop this guy from marrying my girlfriend?"

Megumi thought her newly-revived heart nearly stopped when she realized who Axl was: Her old boyfriend from her first life! Already Zappa was uncertainly looking at his wife, asking for answers whose time had not yet come.

Everything was coming to an end.

            "Person, who are they? Person?"

He did not hear her, having just realized something. The Author had not only recognized the intruders, he had also detected something else, something fainter in presence but more sinister and deadly than the forces directly arrayed against them. Was it their commander, perhaps? The one who sent the Anglo-Saxon Alliance into action, and even now watched the seeds of his –or her– diabolical plots bore fruit at last? Could Samael Tsuzuku have returned, despite reassurances by Yuuki that the villain and all such outsiders could never come back or enter the fan fiction realm of _The World Within And Without_? Or was this a new enemy?

So many things were in the air, both vague and distinct, the balance hanging in between them.

But one thing was sure: Someone had decided to take Person on.

"Is that so?" The growl uttered by The World's Strongest Canadian was combative, inspiring even as Mina felt his resolve grow and touched her own. "Mess with the wedding I've planned and prepared? Mess with Canada and Canadians, eh? Mess with me?"

The loose folds of his bandanna dramatically blowing with the wind, Person With Many Aliases, the Keeper of the System, glared at the unseen enemy.

"We shall see."

            When Drake McKine had agreed to accompany her brother Person through attendance in the wedding he would officiate, she had expected a fairly straightforward and normal occasion. Even having excellent first-hand experience on her brother's questionable mental stability and even considering she bore on-the-scene witness to some of the craziness of her brother's dimension, not to mention her own stories, Drake had somehow clung to her naïve conceptions of a normal peaceful day.

Apparently, Person had never told her about the Sheo Darren Effect.

Wedding's disrupted for now, as battle would soon be joined. The Anglo-Saxon Alliance formed their line of battle. On the other side, Dundee and Lara were readying weapons. Nik sent his Chibi to relative safety while he himself stood with the groom's parents. But they were outnumbered and outclassed.

The painful fact was that Zappa was unable to contribute in the fighting, since almost all of his ghosts were now alive again and plagued with a number of problems: Doggie was just a cute little dog (though Meeka was nasty if provoked); Ginji and Akabane could not be relied upon, they were too busy chasing each other; and the Three Stooges were equally useless in a fight.

Drake and Nik were Authors, which counted a lot since Authors were the most powerful beings to exist. But Nik wasn't exactly the head-to-head fighting guy, specializing more in creating and collecting weapons for other people to use. Drake herself was a _former_ Author; she'd retired permanently some time ago and taken up a real-life job as psychologist. Even worse, they weren't in their own Dimensions, where they would be for all practical purposes the by-God-cock-of-the-by-God-walk. Authors were near-omnipotent in their respective Worlds.

But this wasn't their fan fiction. This was the story of **Sheo Darren**. This was _The World Within And Without_.

Drake sighed. What was she supposed to do? Maybe her brother could offer some useful light on the situation; after all, he did know this Sheo Darren guy.

But Person and Mina were not there.

She sighed again, more deeply than the first. "We are in deep trouble," decided Drake.

             Notwithstanding the sheer gravity of the situation, the rapid shifting of events beyond control of almost anyone, and even despite herself –and, ultimately, _because_ of herself–, the girl in black smiled. It was time.

"It's show time: Romancers."

            They found her waiting. She was the same girl Megumi told them about, the fair girl in the black sundress, glasses glinting in the light, bracelets on her right wrist and left ankle tinkling with a daring breeze's playful overture reminiscent of moths flitting around the consuming flames. Her seat was the roof of a parked car she had decided to adopt as her temporary throne from where to survey the vastness all around her. The expression on her face was of deeply lazy contemplation. She was softly humming to herself, seemingly lost within her own private thoughts, appearing totally unaware of the world without.

But she was well aware of them from the very start. Eyes slowly drew open to reveal the very same pupils that were the last thing the former S-Ko saw: The twin black holes of the lightless Void, _Gamigan_. The Eyes of Darkness.

"_Ohayou__,_ Person-_sama_, Mina-_chan_." Her greeting was affable, quiet, every bit as false as everything else that comprised the illusion she let others think was her true self, a fantasy that deceived her as much as it did her foes– and perhaps it was the better that it was? "Welcome, welcome, I've been expecting you."

The girl smiled a darkly pleasant smile.

"Welcome to my world."


	8. The Laws of Fan Fiction

**Previously in _The__ World Within And Without…_**

_             Megumi thought her newly-revived heart nearly stopped when she realized who Axl was: Her old boyfriend from her first life! Already Zappa was uncertainly looking at his wife, asking for answers whose time had not yet come._

_Everything was coming to an end._

_              "Is that so… Mess with the wedding I've planned and prepared? Mess with __Canada__ and Canadians, eh? Mess with me?"_

_The loose folds of his bandanna dramatically blowing with the wind, Person With Many Aliases, the Keeper of the System, glared at the unseen enemy._

_"We shall see."_

_             Drake sighed. What was she supposed to do?_

_"We are in deep trouble."_

_             Notwithstanding the sheer gravity of the situation, the rapid shifting of events beyond control of almost anyone, and even despite herself –and, ultimately, because of herself–, the girl in black smiled. It was time._

_"It's show time: Romancers."_

_            "Ohayou, Person-sama, Mina-chan... Welcome, welcome, I've been expecting you."_

_The girl smiled a darkly pleasant smile._

_"Welcome to my world."_

**Guilty Gear**

**The World Within And Without**

**Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**Overseen By:** Yuuki Darren

**Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

_For **Person With Many Aliases**, who thought this entire premise up. Enjoy._

**CHAPTER ZERO SEVEN**

**The Laws of Fan Fiction**

            "_Ohayou__,_ Person-_sama_, Mina-_chan_. Welcome, welcome, I've been expecting you."

The girl smiled a darkly pleasant smile.

"Welcome to my World."

"_Your_ world?" Person With Many Aliases seemed miffed by the offhand comment. "There is only one person who had the right to use those words with regards to _The World Within And Without._ And it isn't you."

Despite that, the girl kept smiling.

A sweat-drop appeared on Person's forehead, who was struggling to keep focused on her, the beginnings of doubt and concern sneaking up on him already at this cavalierly opponent who seemed not to care.

The smile grew wider.

And then it hit them. Person did a double-take, even as behind him a horror-stricken Mina gasped. The Keeper of the System was taken aback by the possibility before him, the odds that this girl could be who they thought she was– who **_he_** was!

"_Masaka__!"___

"Don't tell me that you– that you are–"

"SHEO DARREN?" they both exclaimed.

The girl giggled.

"Don't be silly," she half-clucked, half-lectured, in the way a precocious child would scold an adult on something she was the undisputed expert on. "I never claimed to be Sheo or anyone. I simply said _this_ World was _mine._ This is _my _World, after all," she expanded quite cheerfully. "This is the World that I _made_. This World is _mine._"

"No way!" protested Mina. "_The World Within And Without_ is Sheo's fan fiction! He created it! How can you claim to be its owner or creator if he is both, and if you're not him?"

"But it's the truth, plain and simple as that." The giggling stopped as behind her spectacles entrancingly menacing eyes lit up. Her frank tone carried the message more effectively than any sermon could. Then the girl giggled again. "Wow, the truth _does_ set you free, doesn't it? Doesn't it?"

Person and Mina knew now that this encounter was far different and more dangerous than any they ever faced before. All their previous enemies were all outsiders to the Dimension –Samael Tsuzuku–or created characters in the World, like Mriya Falken. Even That Girl was of _The World Within And Without;_ Yuuki Darren was Sheo's creation, bound to their Dimension by the purpose of her entire being.

But this girl was not any of those. She was the loophole, the crisis none ever expected to encounter, much less to deal with. She was not an outsider, and neither was she a created character. They didn't know why it was so or how it happened, only that it was. This girl was an exception to all before her.

And exceptions were lethal.

            At the curtailed wedding of Zappa and Megumi:

The big battle that Sheo Darren had told Lone Wolf NEO about during an e-mail turned out to be not so much a battle between people as a battle to keep one from dying of laughter or insanity.

Considering that the Sheo Darren Effect is rampant in this fan fiction, plus the personal presence of Person With Many Aliases, it wasn't exactly surprising.

Quoting the latter, it is now time for a:

**SCENE CHANGE!**

            Nik and Chibi Nik confronted Joker.

"Wendy!"

From behind the Author and his Chibi, a blonde girl appeared. It was Wendy Earhart (_Read Or Die TV)_, Joke'rs secretary/assistant/admirer_._ She had a gun trained in Nik's general direction.

"Uh, oh," Nik uttered in surprise.

"Rid me of these obstacles," Joker commanded.

Wendy smiled. She aimed and fired.

Eagle was trying to shoo away the two inquisitive dogs sniffing at his ankles. "Go away, little dogs! I do not like little dogs!"

He accidentally hit Doggie on the nose, making the poor puppy whimper in pain.

Meeka growled.

Billy Kane got into his fighting pose. "I will beat you with my stick!"

"The sexual implication of that threat is disturbing," calmly noted Drake McKine.

"Eh?" Billy realized her allusion and blushed, even as he tried to cover it up with some more swagger. "I mean, I will beat you badly with a long hard stick!"

"Sorry, still suggestive."

"At least I don't use balls as well!"

(Somewhere distant, Venom decided to permanently retire. He'd put up with enough insinuations all his life concerning his sexual leanings and his style of fighting. This last insult was the final straw. His wife Millia agreed.)

"You seem to be the type who is usually cool but unusually aggressive." The psychiatrist that she was, Drake considered Billy's personality quite familiar, having encountered it several times before. "Would by any chance there be something that especially tick you off?"

"Well," the guy sputtered, now somewhat confused and actually feeling that he wanted to tell about it, "For one thing, I have a problem with my kid sister."

_Person could relate to that,_ Drake thought. She pursed her lips, decided there was something to this discussion, and then said, "Tell me about it."

As for the parents of the groom confronting their son's nemesis, it was a very traumatic development.

"Axl?" the Tomb Raider mumbled in shock.

"Lara?" was the equally stunned answer.

"You know each other?" Zappa demanded.

"We've met," Axl admitted.

"Just 'met'?" Lara Croft was angry. "You destroyed my life!"

"Me? What did I ever do to deserve that accusation? You were drunk back then!"

"And you were, too, but you were also _high_ then!"

"Well, there was that guy who offered me some free samples! (To the readers: Three guesses who this particular guy is.) I couldn't exactly pass up on a free offer!"

"See! But not only that, you were also repressed and horny!"

"Hey!" swore Axl. "Sheo Darren is the repressed horny guy, not me!"

In the Death Star, Yuuki just barely persuaded the girls not to fire the anti-planetary mega laser at Axl.

"But he's slandering Sheo!" all the girls protested. "We can't let him get away with that!"

"Oh, don't you worry about that." Yuuki smiled faintly as she gently told them off. "I'm sure Axl's going to learn quickly not to bandy the name 'Sheo Darren' around."

"Eh?"

The only answer was a smile, as light glared off That Girl's glasses.

"What is the meaning of this?" Zappa asked Crocodile Dundee. "Why does Mother know this guy?"

"Son," Dundee stated, "You aren't my son. I am not your biological father. When I married your mother, she was already pregnant with you. Before I met your mother, she met this guy who popped out of nowhere and, by progressing through a bunch of beer bottles and marijuana, got her pregnant. Then the guy vanished as quickly as he had arrived. Only now has he returned once more."

"You mean–" Zappa couldn't finish his indignation. "You mean–"

"Yes. Your true father," the Australian adventurer pronounced dramatically, "Your true father is Axl Low!"

Zappa stared in disbelief at everyone concerned.

Dundee was stoic.

Lara was rolling her eyes in disgust.

Axl grinned sheepishly and waved at his son.

Megumi was pale as a ghost.

Note: Insert Zappa in dramatic denial pose here.

"NO! My father is actually a New Age British hippie!"

Already devastated by the past few years of being possessed by a coterie of ghosts until he was finally 'cured'– only to learn that his bride-to-be was the girlfriend of a guy who lived more than a hundred years back in the past, to realize the truth of his ancestry was far too much for Zappa to take.

Thus, he turned into a vegetable.

            Megumi was huddled in a corner of the big tree, sobbing silently to herself, when the girl found her. The poor bride had run away earlier, giving up on her happy dreams and settling for wishing she was dead again.

"Megumi-_san_." The girl walked over to the distraught woman. "There you are."

"Go away."

"_Daijoubu__?_Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not–"

"–And you don't want a Buster Wolf to go along with that order."

"You are so funny. Now go away."

"Really?" There was no trace of malice in the way the girl seemed to take her rebuttal as a compliment. "Jeanne-_sama_ said my humor needed work. Less on teasing and more on fiber, she said."

"I don't care." The Japanese woman withdrew even more into herself. "Just leave me alone."

"Chippy," the girl in black suddenly chuckled. "Love _ka namin_!"

"Eh?" The nonchalant deflection actually got a rise out of Megumi. "What?"

"It's a local joke among us Filipinos. You wouldn't know what I mean unless you've seen the Chippy commercials back home."

Megumi didn't know what to think. She wanted to curl up and cry to herself, but this newcomer was starting to get her attention. When she saw how the girl was dressed –in black, just like the evil girl who started this nightmare for her– she was of half a mind to run away. But this was a different girl than the other.

Somewhere inside her mind, something went click.

"Who are you?"

"Rione." _Rhee-yoh-neh_ was the way the girl pronounced her name. "My name's Rione."

Despite her melancholy, Megumi found herself staring at her. "You're– you're–"

"That's right." Rione grinned. "I'm the one and only The One. Rione Asuka Hunter."

She paused significantly.

"Romancers!"

             "Now why does it all seem so familiar?" the dark girl asked Person and Mina all of a sudden. "Tell me. Why does it all seem like we've seen and done this all before?

"No answer? I'll tell you what I think. It means that the vicious circle is repeating itself once more. This world has no definition of the word 'finish'. History is an endless waltz, the cycle of war and peace and revolution one after the other."

Her eyes gleamed meaningfully, menacingly, as all around them her power arose to take command of the battlefield.

"But I will change that. I will change everything."

"Change this!" Person charged forward. "Flying Ninja–"

"Person, wait!"

The girl smiled, even as her eyes shone darkly and as she–

"The hell?"

–As she pushed her eyeglasses back up her nose, in the way a certain Author and his assistant would do–

"Person!"

–And **The Will And The Word** was unleashed.

            Strikingly alone in the midst of the many souls at one point or another touched by one special young man, his Assistant sees what no one else but he can.

"The power of one's will as manifested in one's words," she breathes out faintly, lost in thought. "The Will And The Word."

             Person found he couldn't move anymore. He was caught in mid-Flying Ninja Kick, stuck in the air like a balloon tethered to the ground. Mina was in a similar position, frozen in place even as she had sought to pull out an arrow to nock into her bow.

"How could you do this? What is this trick?"

"It's really very simple." The girl talked like a patient teacher would address a particularly inattentive child, Person being the latter parallelism as he kept trying to break free of whatever invisible web immobilized him. "Authors are all-powerful in their own respective Dimensions. Also, Author's powers decreases immensely when they are in another Author's World.

"Expansion: No person should be able to defeat an Author on the latter's home ground. Even an Author out of his own Dimension is a formidable foe. However, the Author's opponent can choose not to _directly_ combat the Author. Instead, she can exert influence upon a localized area that will result in her achieving temporary supremacy over the Author. Which is what I did," she finished, her expressive smile particularly emphasizing how smart she thought she was.

It was unfortunately the truth. Both her foes were stunned by the sheer speed and overwhelming effect she had unleashed. It wasn't an attack; it was manipulation of the Dimension's reality. _The World Within And Without_ was far more powerful than Person was, so far away from his own fan fiction at this moment that he was. But the Keeper of the System was curious despite his predicament. "Could you put that in plain English a Canadian could understand?" he asked.

Mina groaned. But the girl was effusive and generous in triumph, not at all like an archetype vindictive megalomaniac psychopath super-villain like Samael Tsuzuku– because she _wasn't_, not at all. Thus she indulged Person's request:

"I used my power to create a small field where my power is supreme to anyone else's. Outside this field, I can be defeated. Inside, though, almost no one can defeat me. Almost, of course, is the important word, since there are always exceptions. There is, after all, the First Law of Fan Fiction that overrides all other Laws."

"What? The Laws of Fan Fiction?" Neither Person nor Mina had heard of such a thing. "What's that?"

"Something Sheo learned about while reading and writing fan fiction. The Laws of Fan Fiction govern the way a Dimension operates. They establish the very reality of a Fan Fiction story. Nothing happens within a World that violates the accords set by the Laws."

"And the First Law is?"

"**The First Law of Fan Fiction: **Everything is Fated to happen." The dark girl grinned cutely despite herself. "It's also known to the less educated as, '**Plot devices PWN everything'.**"

"It makes sense," agreed Person. "Know of any place where I can get copies?"

"Person!"

Somehow, Mina's wail failed to remind him what situation they were in right now.

"Go ask That Girl." Their enemy seemed distant now, aloof, focused on an insubstantial vision before her as she was. "Go ask Yuuki. In fact," she suddenly added, "In fact, let me tell her for you."

And then, as if her object was right before her, the dark girl suddenly greeted: "_Ohayou__,_ Yuuki-_chan__._ It's been two fan fictions since we last met, hasn't it?"

             "Four," breathlessly murmured Yuuki, miles away in space but unbelievably and personally close to her nemesis. "Four-_chan_…"

             "That's right, Yuuki-_chan_." The dark girl now known as Four smiled wickedly. "I'm back."

            Five minutes later, the dazed Person and Mina returned to an even more dazed ending to the battle for Megumi Sadako's hand.

Joker was bleeding on the ground. Aside, Nik and his Chibi were very enthusiastic in thanking Wendy, who had saved them by shooting her former boss.

"H-How could you have betrayed me, Wendy?" The man codenamed Carpenter could not believe this treachery. "I thought you were loyal to me."

"You didn't know?" The blonde secretary giggled. "Sheo recruited me into his harem years ago. He said he liked me a lot. Who was I to disagree?"

Joker fainted.

Next was Eagle –the tiny shredded pieces of what remained of Eagle– haphazardly lying around the wedding grounds. The likely suspects of this massacre: Meeka and Doggie, now contentedly chewing on a shoe that once belonged to the guy they literally took apart.

"No more Alpo for you, Meeka," Mina joked.

And there was Billy Kane lying on a comfortable divan, eyes focused on the distractedly pretty sky while the even prettier Drake was studiously jotting down every single word he was telling her into a notepad.

"–And I tell my sister Lily that there is no life in being the girlfriend of a Muay Thai fighter, and you know what she tells me? 'Big brother, we'll _make_ life out of that empty space'. Her own words, I tell you!"

"Your tone of speech suggests you to be very protective of your sister and profess hostility towards this Higashi Joe."

"Damn straight I am!"

James Bond was out cold from having been UFC straddle punched by Crocodile Dundee. Sharpshooter 007 may be, but he was next to useless in a real fistfight against a guy with bigger muscles than he had.

Lara Croft was worrying over her son. Zappa was stuck in the very same state that had struck Sheo Darren a fan fiction ago: Camille Vidan Veggie Phase. He was barely breathing and did not register any consciousness of his surroundings. Axl was off to the side, a bit embarrassed and ashamed of it all. You would, too, if you learned you just upstaged the wedding of your own son in order to try getting back your old girlfriend who died a long time ago and as a ghost possessed your son, while you yourself were thrown this way and that way by time-space distortions.

To sum things up, the wedding was a disaster.

Staff in hand, Person immediately headed for Axl, his intent all too clear as the Brit backpedaled away from the annoyed Author.

"Hey, chill out, chap, I didn't mean to mess things up so badly…"

"Well, _I_ mean to mess _you_ up _badly_…"

And then Megumi appeared.

Beautiful despite the bedraggled state of her affairs and her once-beautiful gown, she knelt beside Zappa and put her hands on his chest, resting her face against his faintly beating heart. Megumi closed her eyes and let the words the Romancer called Rione told her echo once more within her heart– and into her beloved's own.

            _"If you truly love someone, you must put up with all the bad things happening to you. Despite all the adversity and the chaos and the way all of Fate seems to be turned against you, stand firm and stay by his side. Only when you've suffered through it all and seen how the two of you can take strength within each other against all others, only then shall you discover the depth of your love for each other._

_"Go back to him. He's waiting for you and only you._

_"And remember: All weddings in _The Wedding Night 2_ and _The World Within And Without_ end happily despite everything."_

            "I love you," Megumi whispered to Zappa. "I love you for what you are and despite what you are. I love your for all that has happened to us and despite what has happened to us. And I," she swore, "Will love you eternally, until death part us at last– and even then, I will become S-Ko once more so that I can stay with you forever."

A hand clasped hers softly. Megumi looked up to Zappa, who smiled back at her.

"You don't need to go that far, Meg," he told her.

And then Megumi Sadako kissed Zappa in happiness and as wife to her husband, and that is the end to their story.

            But it's not the end for someone else's story, not yet…

The frantic Axl was almost free of the pursuing Fury that was Person With Many Aliases when he nearly ran into someone– and realized his life was over.

"No way!"

"Yes way," was the calm counter to the shocked GG fighter, even as behind Axl came Person and Mina, who themselves were taken aback by this unexpected appearance. "So, Axl: I'm actually a repressed and horny guy, eh?" the new guy asked.

It was the Brit's turn to faint.

"And you just had to turn my room into a mini theater, did you, Person?" asked the guy of the two insert characters.

Person broke into a mad grin. "Glad you made it," the Keeper of the System greeted. "It's been a while, damn it!"

"Yeah, it's been a while, indeed. But I always was here."

Sheo Darren smiled.

"Always was."

            Four smiled.

"Not everything is what it seems."


	9. Home, Where I Belong

**Previously in _The World Within And Without…_**

_             "Ohayou, Yuuki-chan. It's been two fan fictions since we last met, hasn't it?" _

_"Four," breathlessly murmured Yuuki. "Four-chan…"_

_"That's right, Yuuki-chan." The dark girl now known as Four smiled wickedly. "I'm back."_

_            A hand clasped hers softly. Megumi looked up to Zappa, who smiled back at her._

_"You don't need to go that far, Meg," he told her._

_And then Megumi Sadako kissed Zappa in happiness and as wife to her husband, and that is the end to their story._

_            Person broke into a mad grin. "Glad you made it," the Keeper of the System greeted. "It's been a while, damn it!"_

_"Yeah, it's been a while, indeed. But I always was here."_

_Sheo Darren smiled._

_"Always was."_

_            Four smiled._

_"Not everything is what it seems."_

**Guilty Gear**

**The World Within And Without**

**Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**Overseen By:** Sheo Darren and Yuuki Darren

**Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**Chonological Note:** This entire story happens a year after Sheo's _The Wedding Night 2_ and scarcely half a year after _Revolution: It's Not What It Seems,_ and currently runsroughly in parallel with _Guilty Gear: Heart of the Melting Blood_, the last two stories written by Lone Wolf NEO. This current arc starts well before the previous Zappa-Megumi Arc, but ends just about the same time as the latter.

**CHAPTER ZERO EIGHT**

**Home, Where I Belong**

            The girl stood in the midst of the Mayship's smoking decks and the recent violence wrought by hands of her own bidding and those of others who thought to defy Fate with sword and war and magic and technology. Her red-trimmed cape of sable flew wild in the wind even as the twin swords borne in her hands ran freely with the dark slick liquid that was the precious life fluid of her prey even as they soaked the floor. Ruined remnants of her slain foes lay all around her, reminders of the battle that ended just now and the costs it entailed– and the victory it embodied. Here was a dismembered hand; there, a severed leg. The head of her hapless victim itself was ground beneath her heels, eyes empty of light, permanently silenced.

She surveyed the devastation all around her with cat's eyes –one blood red, the other sea blue, summer flame and winter frost, Hell or Heaven– and rendered her judgment of all she had accomplished and of what she had allowed herself to become.

Akari Odine wept.

            Two weeks earlier…

John had absolutely no idea of the potential hornet's nest he would stir when –following the end of the wedding of Millia Rage and Venom– he brought the wounded Akari Odine to recuperate on the Mayship.

He wasn't Johnny, after all; just the man's twin brother. He didn't have his sibling's vast experience in taking care of and dealing with a host of jealous teenager girls who were your biggest fans. Neither did he have the casual cavalierly charisma that allowed him to lead those girls around by the merest motion of the pinky finger. He was no pimp daddy, no Maharaj or Sultan, and certainly _no_ Shiki Tohno.

In the distant Dimension of Lone Wolf NEO's _Heart of the Melting Blood,_ Shiki is having trouble trying to keep the peace amongst the quarreling Arcuied, Ciel, Akiha, Hisui, Kohaku, Sion, Miyako, Aoi, Ren, Saber, and all the other girls from _Tsukihime_, _Melty Blood, Fate/Stay Night_ and all other assorted TYPEMOON creations, all who like him and are currently fighting over him. Hell, even Neko Arcuied is there, albeit only to sit in the middle of the chaos and occasionally pawing cutely at the air, the only calm entity there. The scene reminds readers of the time when Sheo Darren was still around to flaunt his harem, save that even in his worst days his girls were never this rowdy. Besides, Sheo was never even a shadow of the kind of pathetic that Shiki is.

Despite the cacophony raised by the conflicting girls, Shiki is heard protesting "Hey! I resent that!"

Returning to our poor Pirate Lord, it wasn't saying that John had no capability whatsoever to handle this kind of trouble. He was quite well prepared, indeed. Where Johnny had experience, John had common sense. Where the former was bestowed with sex appeal, the latter was charming in his quiet way. And if the younger twin (by one minute) was bereft of deep intellect, the elder was contrastingly smart and wise in the ways of the world.

But some say that those people who know not what horrors they are provoking are lucky and best-equipped to survive such. Proponents of this faction stress the proliferation of survival horror games where the protagonist is thrown into nightmarish _Silent Hill _situations with little or no preparation for such. Others say the direct opposite holds: That those who are prepared in one way or another have already won half the battle. These would be the guys who play _Resident Evil._

We'll see which is true soon enough, soon enough...

            _I'm sorry, Zato-sama._

_I failed to kill the traitors who betrayed you. I failed in battle and was spared out of pity, when I could have died and been with you at last where I belong._

_I failed._

_I failed utterly._

_I failed our Guild of Assassins._

_I failed myself._

_I failed you._

_Forgive me, Zato-sama. Forgive me._

_Zato-sama…_

            When Akari woke up, she found herself in a room she did not recognize, swathed in blankets as she was lying on a soft white bed. An IV drip was attached to her left hand, the bag of dextrose swinging gently this way and that. She felt but couldn't see the bandages beneath the bedspreads and the big loose sleeveless shirt that reached almost to her knees, an article of clothing definitely not of her ownership since it was too big for her. That she could not feel any pain at all right now suggested either a dose of painkillers or that her wounds had mostly healed, or maybe both.

Oddly, she could not bring herself to talk right now. That meant anesthesia, which dulled the nervous system but kept the pain and the edginess away. Or maybe she just was too tired and disinterested in making a comment.

Stuck here for the foreseeable future, she found herself making in-depth observations of her quarters. Her senses peaked up as much as she could make them, numbed by exhaustion and medicine. As she did so, she propped herself up into a sitting position, the better to keep an eye all around her, a wary eagle perched on its roost.

The faint vibration in everything everywhere, the muted roar of the multiple engines outside the hull, and the difference in the cabin's air pressure told her that her current residence was flying in the air, those and the fact that a bird was plastered upon the only window to her room. After all, where else did you expect to find a full-sized goose smeared all across the glass? Only on an airship or perhaps the floating country of Zepp; more likely the former, she decided. Zepp didn't move so fast that a goose couldn't dodge it, Titanic or not.

A strong gust of wind sent the stricken goose flying away. Akari watched it 'depart' with something akin to loneliness and disappointment. She was being left alone again. _Just like before,_ she thought bitterly, _just like always…_

The door opened.

"Oh. Good morning," greeted John.

Her first formed thought was to grab at her hat –the one with the hidden razor brim– and hurl it at him. Since she didn't have it or any of her other weapons, not to mention her own clothes, Akari was at a loss on what she _should_ do. She settled on glaring defiantly at the intruder, a task her dissimilar pair of pupils –one red, the other blue– was excellent for.

The pirate lord was impressed. His newest ward was proving her worth in salt pretty quickly. "Are you feeling better now, Miss?" he asked solicitously. "Are your wounds all healed up now? That was a nasty fight you got into back then."

Akari's face flushed red. Remembering her close brush with death wasn't what brought that on. It wasn't the memory of her failure to kill Millia Rage and Venom that grated on her, either. It was that this man had saved her life back then, when she should have gotten killed by all accounts, and finally be at rest with the person she loved the most.

_Zato-sama_…

"I thought so. Those were some terrible injuries you took a week ago. Even I thought you wouldn't make it." John shivered a bit to think how close Akari had come to dying. The girl had lost so much blood and had so little purpose in life to go on that she seemed deader than alive back then. "But you have to give it to the doctor," he conceded, "He just wouldn't give up. Lucky for us he didn't."

The word 'doctor' struck a brain cell. There was no such profession in this era. Superseded by clerics and self-taught healers who discarded the term as an anachronism, there were no longer any people who called themselves 'doctors'.

Well, actually, there was one. Just one, mind you, and he not exactly neither the most renowned nor the most popular guy around. The Assassin Guild knew a lot about him. Her late organization ought to. In a way, they were sort of responsible for him turning into the way he did.

"Yeah, that crazy beanpole doctor, the guy named Faust. Even he gave me the creeps, he was so weird. Imagine, coming through a door that popped out of the thin air? But he wouldn't give up on you. Something about never letting another little girl to die on him or something," mused John, "He couldn't let that happen again, he said."

She remembered him now.

"Doctor Baldhead," murmured a suddenly reverent Akari.

"Eh?"

She dismissed the remark with a quick jerk of her head and girded herself. "So, just what are you planning for me?" she disdainfully asked, taking control of this dialogue for all it was worth, deciding then and there that she didn't want anything to do with this airship and its crew.

"Excuse me?" John was quite taken aback by this unexpected turn of words. "What do you mean by that, Miss?"

"Do you really start the show by pretending all your victims are stupid?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

He sounded honest, which annoyed Akari. "You _are_ pirates, after all, Jellyfish and all aside. Do you make people jump off planks as well? I highly doubt there would be any sharks to snap me up, though, and much less enough of me to be worth snapping up when I hit the ground from ten thousand feet." _That comment ought to be worth something_, she thought.

The pirate lord grimaced in the way a man does when he learns his new pet dog is a biter. Then he suddenly broke into low-key laughter.

"Ma'am, we may be pirates, but we aren't the kind you are thinking of. Those are pirates of the old, worst kind. We, we're just modern day Robin Hoods. We take from the rich and give to the poor, like ourselves." John grinned, becoming more and more like his twin in mannerism every now and then. "But we can arrange the plank walk, if you like and for tradition's sake.

Akari was sort of disappointed. The girl was hoping for some bridled anger in reaction to her insults, but got none for her efforts. She was also annoyed at the offhand way she was being simultaneously dismissed _and_ obliged.

"Never mind," she snapped, her short temper beginning to fray already. "What are you really planning to do with me?"

John smiled.

The glower sent his way was dangerous.

Still he smiled.

"Well," John began, "It seems you owe me a favor."

Akari would have spat in his face, but settled for a sniff of contempt. "I don't remember being indebted to anyone, you in particular."

"I saved your life, didn't I?"

"I never asked you to."

"Can you at least show some semblance of gratitude?"

"Gratitude is a disease of the dogs."

"Ow." John was wincing. "That hurt. Quoting Stalin on me, I mean."

Mismatched eyes of fire and ice flared. "So my life is yours for the moment. What of it?" the angry Akari demanded, leaping almost into the face of a very surprised John, yelling her head off at him at point blank range. "I've heard a lot about you, Pirate Lord! You don't have an all-female crew for nothing, now, do you? But of course you don't'!

"What do you want me to do? Be your personal slave? Strip naked in front of you and ask you to ravish me, like your historical antecedents often did?" The girl was practically furious; in contrast, John was taken aback. "Oh, I'm sure the likes of you would dearly enjoy that!"

There were cheers in the background, plus a few exclamations of "Woo, yeah! Do it, baby!" and "I'd love to do it with you!"

Akari actually blushed at the catcalls and clutched her shirt to herself self-consciously. "What the hell? Who said that?"

The doors opened as a bunch of people poured in, toting myriad equipment used for filming such as video cameras, lights and wardrobe.

"Oh, no," groaned John, even as he called for the Jellyfish girls while Akari gaped at the 'invasion'. "I thought Sol killed them all off already."

"We cannot be killed! We are like cockroaches! We cannot die for real!"

All veteran readers of _The Wedding Night _2 can groan now. The Virra Mall Filipino porn movie people were back with a vengeance.

            Thirty very messy minutes later:

"Was that the last of them?" John asked.

"Yes, Captain!"

"Good." Shrugging his aching shoulders, John slid his twin brother's katana back into its sheath. As he did, he gave the blade and the memories it engendered a soft look of compassion.

_I wonder if you could have done things better, my brother Johnny?_

Akari had watched the extermination of the Virra Mall pornographers as a mere spectator. All the while she was stock still, witness to how the Jellyfish girls got rid of the troublesome Filipino vermin, utterly helpless.

Her gaze shifted to John, who was walking over to her. "You okay, Miss Akari?"

"Why? Why?" Confusion filled her eyes. "Why did you do all that for me?"

He grinned sheepishly. "Well, it's not exactly just for you," he admitted. "Those guys can be nasty if you let them stay even one second. I've got a ship to run and girls to protect. It's not like I have a choice. These girls aren't mine, anyway." His handsome face softened. "They're my brother's, but since he's gone for good, I'm just doing what I can for them."

"So…" Akari was stupefied. "You– you're–"

"Yep," grinned the pirate. "I'm not Johnny. My name's John, by the way, and I'll be in charge of you until you fully heal and go your own ways."

"And when is that?"

"Whenever you want; right now, even."

She considered the man's honesty and her misjudgment of his character due entirely to rumors attributed to a different person, now dead. All the Jellyfish girls were already watching her, but Akari ignored them. Instead she focused on the one who mattered: Their leader, the twin brother of the legendary Jellyfish Pirate Johnny, a man so like and so unlike the first. John.

"So you'd let me stay here?"

"That is the general idea, more or less."

"Even allowing for who I am? Even knowing what I am and what I can possibly do? Even though," and here her contrasting eyes glimmered, "Even though I hate you for ruining my life, and at the first possible instance I get, I'm going to kill you?"

At the threat to their beloved captain, the Jellyfish girls began to take ominous steps toward on Akari. John stayed them with a slight gesture.

"I never really wanted to live forever," he said cheerfully, "So be my guest."

"Why?"

"Let's say I believe in second chances. I wouldn't be here myself if it wasn't for a second chance, after all. So," John asked, "What is it, Miss Akari? Care to be at home here for a while?"

_            A home…_

_He's offering me a home._

_A home is somewhere a person can belong._

_Once, I was homeless. Zato-sama gave me a home and a purpose in the Assassin Guild. But I've lost him and the Guild. I'm homeless again._

She remembered the time they first met: She lost in the bowels of humankind's refuse, him the very epitome of darkness. She remembered his scent. Despite all the blood and the menace implied, it was a sweet scent, one she instantly liked. Like a bee drawn to a flower, she followed him to what became her home for a long time.

And then she had lost everything once more.

Now, a new man was offering her sanctuary.

_He smells like Zato-sama… Sweet… But his is a cleaner, gentler scent, one more peaceful, one more reassured. Why? Why is that?_

_Because he is at home_, she realized_. He has a home to go to._

_I want to have that kind of scent._

_I want to have a home again._

_I want to be home._

_(When this began)  
I had nothin' to say,  
And I'd get lost in the nothingness inside of me,  
(I was confused)  
And I'd let it all out to find,  
That I'm not the only person with these things in mind,  
(Inside of me)  
But all the vacancy the words revealed,  
Is the only real thing that I've got left to feel,  
(Nothin' to lose)  
Just stuck,  
Hollow and alone,  
And the fault is my own  
And the fault is my own  
  
I wanna heal,  
I wanna feel,  
What I thought was never real,  
I wanna let go of the pain I've felt so long,  
(Erase all the pain 'til it's gone)  
I wanna heal,  
I wanna feel,  
Like I am close to something real,  
I wanna find something I've wanted all along,  
Somewhere I Belong,  
  
And I've got nothin' to say,  
I can't believe I didn't fall right down on my face,  
(I was confused)  
Lookin' everywhere,  
Only to find that it's not the way I had imagined it all in my mind,  
(So what am I)  
What do I have but negativity,  
'Cause I can't justify the way everyone is lookin' at me,  
(Nothin' to lose)  
Nothin' to gain,  
Hollow and alone,  
And the fault is my own  
And the fault is my own  
  
I wanna heal,  
I wanna feel,  
What I thought was never real,  
I wanna let go of the pain I felt so long  
(Erase all the pain 'till it's gone)  
I wanna heal,  
I wanna feel,  
Like I am close to something real,  
I wanna find something I wanted all along  
Somewhere I Belong  
  
I will never know,  
Myself until I do this on my own,  
And I will never feel,  
Anything else, until my wounds are healed,  
I will never be,  
Anything 'til I break away from me,  
And I will break away,  
I'll find myself today,  
  
I wanna heal,  
I wanna feel,  
What I thought was never real,  
I wanna let go of the pain I felt so long,  
(Erase all the pain 'till it's gone)  
I wanna heal,  
I wanna feel,  
Like I am close to something real,  
I wanna find something I wanted all along,  
Somewhere I Belong  
  
I wanna heal,  
I wanna feel like I'm  
Somewhere I Belong  
  
I wanna heal,  
I wanna feel like I'm  
Somewhere I Belong  
  
Somewhere I Belong_

            Her doubts temporarily vanquished, trembling at the enormity of her destiny she was entrusting into the hands of this man she barely knew, Akari made her choice.


	10. The Thirteenth Jellyfish

**Previously in _The World Within And Without…_**

_            She surveyed the devastation all around her with cat's eyes –one blood red, the other sea blue, summer flame and winter frost, Hell or Heaven– and rendered her judgment of all she had accomplished and of what she had allowed herself to become._

_Akari Odine wept._

            _I'm sorry, Zato-sama._

_I failed to kill the traitors who betrayed you. I failed in battle and was spared out of pity, when I could have died and been with you at last where I belong._

_I failed._

_I failed utterly._

_I failed our Guild of Assassins._

_I failed myself._

_I failed you._

_Forgive me, Zato-sama. Forgive me._

_Zato-sama…_

_            A home…_

_He's offering me a home._

_A home is somewhere a person can belong._

_Once, I was homeless. Zato-sama gave me a home and a purpose in the Assassin Guild. But I've lost him and the Guild. I'm homeless again._

_            He smells like Zato-sama… Sweet… But his is a cleaner, gentler scent, one more peaceful, one more reassured. Why? Why is that?_

_Because he is at home_, she realized_. He has a home to go to._

_I want to have that kind of scent._

_I want to have a home again._

_I want to be home._

_I wanna heal,  
I wanna feel,  
Like I am close to something real,  
I wanna find something I wanted all along  
Somewhere I Belong_

_            Her doubts temporarily vanquished, trembling at the enormity of her destiny she was entrusting into the hands of this man she barely knew, Akari made her choice._

**Guilty Gear**

**The World Within And Without**

**Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**Overseen By:** Sheo Darren and Yuuki Darren

**Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**Chonological Note:** This entire story happens a year after Sheo's _The Wedding Night 2_ and scarcely half a year after _Revolution: It's Not What It Seems,_ and currently runsroughly in parallel with _Guilty Gear: Heart of the Melting Blood_, the last two stories written by Lone Wolf NEO. This current arc starts well before the previous Zappa-Megumi Arc, but ends just about the same time as the latter.

**CHAPTER ZERO NINE**

**The Thirteenth Jellyfish**

            Life went on normally– or at least, as normally as it could go in the case of an almost-all-female aerial pirate group trying to deal with the latest rival for their captain's attention–correction: 'The latest addition to their ranks'. That the original supposition about rivalry held and that the new girl herself wasn't doing anything to make things better –indeed, Akari could be said to be more standoffish than a Romulan with an engraved invitation to a Klingon banquet– made the situation worse.

And there was the thing about her position. Previously there were twelve Jellyfish pirates, all named after months of the calendar (but more on them later). This meant that Akari was the _thirteenth_ member.

And we all know what connotation the number 'thirteen' has in the West.

There is no floor on a building marked the 13th floor; instead there will be Floor 12 A and Floor 12 B, or some other clever gimmick. Don't bother to go looking for a room with the number, either. Room 212 is next to Room 214, and that is it. In more recent memory, Sheo Darren avoided giving the designation Chapter 13 to said segment of _The Wedding Night 2_, instead opting to call it _All's Well that Ends Well?_ That Chapter 11 was in terms of installment sequence really Chapter 13 (the Author Wars Interlude taking up space as Chapter 10) delineates just how much some people try to avoid the said number and the bad luck superstition claims it carries.

It doesn't always work.

So, Akari Odine is the thirteenth Jellyfish girl.

And just like the Antonio Banderas starrer _The Thirteenth Warrior _–although she is in no way a flop like the said movie–, she will change Destiny in her own way…

Mention should be made of the Jellyfish girls. They're all named after calendar months due their captain's ignorance of better girl names. One shudders to think what names Johnny might have given them, had there been more than just twelve. Would he have gone for days? Or maybe numbers.

There were twelve girls in all, each very different from all the others. In chronological order (they really were picked up by Johnny in that order):

January, 'Jan', is the oldest at twenty. She is the first member ever recruited by Johnny. Being the oldest means she's the most mature. By the term 'mature', Jan is more like Rugal's sultry secretaries Vice and Mature. She's also the sexiest and the one prone to flirting with the captain, much to the latter's amusement but the other Jellyfish girls' anger.

Ditzy February (Fibby) is not exactly brainless or stupid. She is just an energetic clumsy forgetful silly ditzy girl, but she was _cutesy_ even at it. Adorable even when sprawled all across the floor with stuff piled up on her and moaning "_Gomene, gomene,"_ Fibby is a well-meaning, if sometimes exasperating, source of comic humor on the team.

Reputed to be the distant descendant of Sagara Sousuke, March is to people unfamiliar with the _Full Metal Panic_ protagonist the over-militarily-minded war freak. Example: When asked to restore order, she lobs a few stun gas grenades, then shoots 'resisters' with Tazers and rubber bullets. She is, unsurprisingly, assigned in charge of the Mayship armory. Like her rumored ancestor, March has little, if any, idea of normal life.

We know who April is.

Ditto with May.

June is the most normal of the bunch, and when we mean normal, she really is normal. She's very ordinary in all ways, demeanor and tastes. She has no abnormal traits whatsoever. Really. We swear it's true. Unfortunately, being the only normal person in a somewhat abnormal group makes June the _abnormal_ one to her 'normally abnormal' buddies. Go figure.

Fulfilling the role of Maehara Shinobu from _Love Hina_ is July. She's so shy that even a stranger's offhand comment will make her wilt. She doesn't like men (save for Johnny and John, of course) and tends to keep a very low profile. However, she is not the type to be provoked, because when flustered July tends to unconsciously launch devastating martial arts strikes at the closest person in range. Said attacks usually end with victim experiencing a whole new world– of pain, that is.

It is inevitable in an all-girls group that there would be a tomboy. August fills that position quite effectively. There is no girl on board she hadn't tried making a move on. It's not that Augie, as she calls herself, doesn't like men; she likes Johnny and John well enough, tolerates Bridget, and actually gets along well with Jack (much to April's disgust). She just liked girls better. But in spite of her questionable gender leanings, August is quite friendly and protective of her buddies.

The resident bookworm/genius is be bespectacled September. She is the ship librarian, historian, researcher, web guru and source of all kinds of informational tidbits. Creative, a born writer and expert organizer, her only problems are that she was a know-it-all and tends to go crazy when someone upset her neat logical order of things. September is on very good postal correspondences with another genius girl, this one from Egypt: Sion Eltnam Atlasia.

If September is the God of books and internet, then October was McGyver and Montgomery Scott put together. Mechanical wizard extraordinaire, she can repair anything on the Mayship with nothing other than her trusty handy-dandy Swiss knife, some Scotch tape, a wad of bubblegum, and a toothpick. The big red armored power suit girl running down the baddies in May's IK is her. Interestingly, Johnny hadn't baptized October after a month; it happened that a _Gundam_ character of the same name existed and was her namesake.

Bashful November is the big frumpy cook's assistant. Always decked up in an apron and chef's hat, her usual domain would be the kitchen, where she prepares most delicious banquets under the cook's supervision. She hates it when May or Dizzy tries to cook, since the last two girls blew the kitchen up through attempts to make food for Ky earlier. November swaps recipes with online friend Hisui over the 'Net.

Finally, December is the third '-ember' girl, the youngest and the last –but not the least–Jellyfish pirate. She would be the pink-haired toddler seen towards the end of May's Destroy move, the one who trips and cries for the cook to help her, triggering the final blow of the IK. As you probably guessed, she is very babyish and cries a lot.

The cook is not one of the Jellyfish girls. She was hired by Johnny for one reason: To cook. The other role she plays is that of nanny to the girls, which she does excellently. She has no name, at least none she gave out. Everyone referred to her as the cook.

Finally, there was the group mascot, the back cat with the pirate hat. Despite being black, the cat was good luck to the girls. Yes, it was a female cat. Johnny's crew preferences were worse off than Sheo Darren's. At least Earl Osborne, Elde Talonn and Sammy were male.

(Note: This is the Sheo Darren version of the Jellyfish girls. Other Authors might have their own versions.)

These are the women (and feline) that Akari and John have to live with. Chitose from _Happy Lesson_ had it easy; he just had five teachers who disastrously stood as his 'moms', weird best friends who weren't really best friends nor just friends, weirder salesmen, a dozen or so 'we don't know what they are, really' critters that look like yellow chicks, and the class president girl with the 'instant atomic death bringer punch'.

Okay, maybe John wasn't that much worse off…

Stranger in strange lands, Akari withdrew into herself, erecting a virtual fortress of solitude around her. The friendliest Jellyfish girls quickly gave up on making early relational inroads. Augie did try making a move on her, but came out of the experience dazed and somewhat scared. That warned everyone to leave the newcomer alone. December took to a little game consisting of peeking at Akari from behind corners, November braved potential death to ask what meals she wanted to have, and June –temporarily the team leader what with May away on honeymoon with hubby Bridget and April missing– did her best to make things run smoothly. Everyone also kept a watchful eye on her, reasons elaborated later. But otherwise they let the sleeping dog lay.

Looks didn't help Akari much. Those distinctly mismatched cat eyes were eerie at best and scary outright in the worst cases, especially when she was annoyed. Her dark brown mane was a mess because she refused to have people carrying sharp instruments anywhere near her. The ostracized included anyone who'd thought to give her a decent haircut with a harmless pair of snipping scissors. Instead, Akari herself cut her own hair– with one of her swords. This accounted for a cross between a poor Yorkshire Terrier just mauled by pit bulls and Yajima Satomi of _Advanced Variable Geo_. Thankfully she followed the Jellyfish style of bandanna-wearing, keeping the eyesore out of sight and mind.

She wasn't much better off in terms of personality, either. In addition to being quietly sinister, Akari also was unapproachable. She was more frigid than Antarctica and went about with an air of menace, like a predatory shark whose fin hadn't broken the surface– yet. She also pretended to be the sole existing being aboard the Mayship, a display of superiority that ticked off most anyone at the receiving end. The only person she paid any significant amount of attention to was John.

It was not that she was inattentive of everything else. Akari was a shrewd observer, able to fool her subjects into thinking she wasn't interested in them when she really was. It was a useful skill during her Assassin Guild days, in assignments to track one particular quarry hours or even days, taking a long while to perfect assassination attempts by factoring in all useful things she can employ. She was the ultimate stalker, a fact that would have really troubled the Jellyfish girls had they been told of it (not that they needed to be told, anyway).

And indeed she was John's stalker. From day one, Akari had declared her hatred for the captain, openly promising everyone that she would kill him one day when she felt like it. "I hate you for ruining my life," she had told him before everyone else, not caring that others heard, "And at the first possible instance I get, I'm going to kill you." She tried delivering her end of the bargain more than half a dozen times already. The first few attempts were outright backstabs, the most recent one being a straight challenge that would have done the late Zofeah of _Revolution_ proud. She lost all of them so far, though it got more and more difficult for John to win as his opponent recovered her old fighting form and rapidly accustomed herself to his style.

He was also handicapping himself. Instead of the ultra-thin lightweight _katana_ inherited from Johnny, the new Pirate Lord used a simple padded _bokken_. It was heavier than his sword and slower in terms of striking speed but assuredly safer, and John didn't want to hurt Akari too much. But injuries and losing didn't stop her from swearing his death by her hands; it only made her work harder at it. Akari was getting better, too, which was the scary part.

Their captain in danger, the Jellyfish girls went on red alert. After the latest duel ended with John getting superficial injuries, June decided that they had to do something before things got out of hand. March happily volunteered to keep tabs on their murderous new colleague, in effect becoming the stalker's stalker. Soon Akari noticed things that shouldn't be around: Large, cleverly disguised observation posts/sniping holes/bunkers with suspicious-looking muzzles pointed in her general direction, equally strategic surveillance cameras, automated machine gun nests, pressure-detonated mines on the floor and ceiling and walls, even a few camouflaged pit traps with dummy Johns as bait. It was amusing in one way and invigorating in another. The Jellyfish were taking her seriously as a threat to their beloved leader. Akari obliged them.

Not that John minded all of this inordinate attention. He went on being the same old twin brother to Johnny that he was. He even had Akari's weapons returned to her. The entire kit and caboodle was impressive: An extendable magic wand with internal laser gun, six sets of razor-sharp steel daggers disguised as playing cards, a hat containing a number of homing missile drones in the form of rabbits, a set of swords, a chainsaw, even a big box the size of a man that broke up into three different boxes and whose purpose was familiarly creepy.

"A fight's not fair without the weapons she's used to," John had said in defense of his actions. He obviously didn't think much of the primary rule in combat: Win in whatever way you can. All the _Don Quixote_ and _Ivanhoe_ he read in his spare time had gotten to his head.

Akari had just shrugged the explanation off and attacked. She lost that round, but she had a lifetime to pursue that one significant victory she longed for.

            It was, by the purest of happenstance, the critical event that would change her life forever. And it happened during a game of cards.

More than a week had gone by since the Assassin had arrived on the Mayship. What had been hectic on the first few days were now routine. In the wardroom, January, February, August and June were playing cards to stave off boredom. Nearby was September, already lost within the depths of _War And Peace_. December was playing with the cat. Outside they could see October hammering away at an engine's exposed cowlings. March, July and November were on usual duty.

Like a shadow in the night, without anyone noticing she was already there, Akari stealthily slipped into the room. It wasn't hard to do this, though she had to give March credit for being very persistent and dedicated in tailing her. It had taken fifteen precious minutes, a lot of exertion and some ingenuity on her part, and a bit of luck tricking the Jellyfish soldier into one of the latter's booby traps. She had no illusions that the furious March was already blasting her way out of the pit trap and coming after her.

But for now, Akari had a few minutes of peace.

They were talking about her. Augie was reiterating for what seemed to be the hundredth time how creepy the former assassin was. Fibby was appropriately spooked, while Jan took a peek at June's 'hand'. To Akari's surprise, the latter scolded the others for talking behind people's back, actually defending her.

"Let's give Akari a chance. Captain John believes in her. I think we should, too," she quietly suggested.

"A chance?" August scoffed. "We've given her a lot of chances already, all right– chances to murder us all in our sleep, that is!"

"Don't be such an alarmist, Augie. Person's review got you wrongly."

"Alarmist? Me? June, neither Person nor me are the problems. The problem is Akari! That girl tried to off the Captain a million times already!"

"Eight," corrected September, eyes fixated on Tolstoy's masterpiece/nightmare of a book but attention briefly detoured to the discussion, stickler for factual accuracy as she was. "If you don't count the time she happened in on John when he was in the shower, blushed for the first time in our view –and telling us she was actually human while at it– and ran away like mad, aborting her assassination attempt."

There was scattered grumbling at that, plus Jan daydreaming just what it was that their luckless/lucky neophyte saw. "I thought that kind of scene only happened to us girls?"

"Apparently, Sheo Darren is starting to be affected by the arguments on 'gender equality'."

Noticing Akari present there December happily gurgled and pointed at her. Akari put a finger to her lips, wondering what reaction she would get. To her pleasure, the little Jellyfish girl mimicked her gesture, head cheerily bobbing as she went back to tickling the cat. Akari sighed and had to smile to herself. _That makes two._

June was talking vibrantly now, commanding all sans September's attention in the room. She wasn't eloquent, but her simple words were effective indeed.

"We're orphans, right? We all were. Girls with no family to love us or homes to go to, we were drifters– until Captain Johnny took us in. When he did, we found a new family in place of the old, a new home to call our own. We are family now. This ship is our home now. We swore to do everything we can to protect our family and our home. We don't want to lose them again, because we know what it feels to have no home and family.

"Think of Akari's situation. Her old home and family were taken away. Never mind that they were Assassins and all; the fact is, they were what she called her home and her family. She lost it all. She doesn't know what to do with her life now. She is orphaned, just like we were."

Akari couldn't find it in herself to comment, she was so overwhelmed by the compassion. She just didn't know what to think of it. Even back in the Assassin Guild, even Zato-_sama_ hadn't been as concerned as June was now. And unlike the Assassins back then, the Jellyfish girls today had learned just the same thing– and were willing to change, to accept her not just as one of them, but as true family.

December insistently tugged upon her hand. When Akari glanced down at her, she saw the little girl was smiling broadly at her.

It felt good.

"So, can't we feel something for someone who suffered through the same things we all did?" June held her hands out to her captivated audience. "Can't we at least try our best to help her?"

Everyone was quiet.

All save one.

"Thank you," said Akari out loud.

All the other girls stared at her in shock, realizing just now that she had been there all along. Well, not all of them. September was a virtual slave to _War And Peace._ The newly-arrived March was aiming a chain gun at her head.

June laughed. It disarmed the situation, if not the big auto cannon.

"Why just now? Why didn't you open up to us before?"

"I thought you people wouldn't let me. I thought you didn't care. For a while, it seemed like I was right. But I just realized that you really did care. You, June," Akari added. "You and December and even John."

"It's Captain John," she corrected.

"It'll be a while," smirked the brunette, "Before he deserves this assassin calling him that."

"But you're no longer an assassin."

Akari was taken aback. "Eh?"

"You're a Jellyfish pirate now," June benignly noted. "Didn't you know that, Akari?"

            Though warned by October earlier, Johnny was a bit slowing in reacting to the potential disaster at hand. He didn't think things would end up tragically, Person WMA's fears or otherwise. Arriving at the wardroom at last, he was surprised to find all the girls clustered together around Akari in the established tradition of welcoming a new member of the team.

"Welcome to the Jellyfish Pirates, Akari Odine." June was solemn, but her eyes sparkled in happiness for their new friend. "Welcome to our family and your new home, the Thirteenth Jellyfish."

The girls cheered.

Akari caught John's grin. Her smirk softened visibly.

"Thanks. Thanks a lot."

"Okay, girls! Celebrations on the works! My treat!"

"Yay!"

            It watched the Mayship from its vantage point upon its own trailing aerial fortress with soulless eyes that had no trace of mercy in them. It cared not for the people in the first airship; it saw only one person in particular: Its target. In its hand was an odd weapon that, at a distance, would have looked like a cigarette lighter. Around it was more of its kind, all identical to it in terms of power, all of them driven by the same mission parameters.

It had failed its mission before, failed at the blade of the turncoat reject that was its flawed predecessor.

Defeat would not happen again. It would make sure of it.

The watcher grotesquely grinned.

"PREPARE YOURSELF, ASSASSIN. ALL YOUR BASES ARE BELONGS TO US."


	11. A Girl Named Akari

_            So, Akari Odine is the thirteenth Jellyfish girl._

_And just like the Antonio Banderas starrer The Thirteenth Warrior –although she is in no way a flop like the said movie–, she will change Destiny in her own way…_

_             "I thought you people wouldn't let me. I thought you didn't care. For a while, it seemed like I was right. But I just realized that you really did care. You, June," Akari added. "You and December and even John."_

_"It's Captain John," she corrected._

_"It'll be a while," smirked the brunette, "Before he deserves this assassin calling him that."_

_"But you're no longer an assassin."_

_Akari__ was taken aback. "Eh?"_

_"You're a Jellyfish pirate now," June benignly noted. "Didn't you know that, Akari?"_

_            "Welcome to the Jellyfish Pirates, Akari Odine." June was solemn, but her eyes sparkled in happiness for their new friend. "Welcome to our family and your new home, the Thirteenth Jellyfish."_

_            The watcher grotesquely grinned._

_"PREPARE YOURSELF, ASSASSIN. ALL YOUR BASES ARE BELONGS TO US."_

**Guilty Gear**

**The World Within And Without**

**Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**Overseen By:** Sheo Darren and Yuuki Darren

**Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**Chonological**** Note:** This entire story happens a year after Sheo's _The Wedding Night 2_ and scarcely half a year after _Revolution: It's Not What It Seems,_ and currently runsroughly in parallel with _Guilty Gear: Heart of the Melting Blood_, the last two stories written by Lone Wolf NEO. This current arc starts well before the previous Zappa-Megumi Arc, but ends just about the same time as the latter.

**CHAPTER TEN**

**A Girl Named Akari**

            The better part of the bokken's padded length clattered onto the floor. While the girls gasped in shock, John merely gave his broken weapon a quick look of interest before he smiled at his opponent. "You've gotten a lot better."

"I should," was the confident reply. "I have a good enemy."

John's smile became a grin.

"Captain John!"

That was June passing him the _katana_ that was his brother's inheritance come unto him. Without even casting a glance, John deftly caught the sword and got into his _iajitsu_ pose, looking every bit the image of the late Johnny. Aside, the whole complement of the Mayship, the Jellyfish girls, were all cheering him _and_ his foe on.

"Time to take things seriously now, shall we?" he asked.

Akari Odine smirked back. "Bring it."

            A few days had passed since the events of the previous chapter. At last truly welcomed into the Jellyfish family, Akari took her place as the official thirteenth pirate girl who flew aboard the Mayship (One of Bridget's game endings had him an honorary Jellyfish member due Dizzy, but he doesn't count.) After several years of aimless wandering, after much soul-searching and wondering, she had finally found her new home and her new family.

This didn't stop her from going after John. Far from it; Akari speeded up her training and stepped up her attempts, averaging at least once and usually twice a day. But already the other Jellyfish had begun to notice something different in the pursuit. The former assassin took her self-proclaimed headhunting mission as seriously as before, but she smiled more often and took her bumps more lightly while at it. Thus, her attacks were becoming as much a normal quirk of hers as it was for September to lose herself into reading, or October keeping the ship together with Scotch tape, or June being the only normal girl aboard.

Now, she finally had the chance she had fought for in weeks. Akari could finally fight it out with John for real.

But their fight was destined not to take place– at least, not yet, not now. The past had caught up with them in the form of a menace they failed to expect.

            Sinister laughter echoed from above, floating down to them in a mocking way. The combatants halted, heads looking up for the source of the intruding voice, the new threat.

It wore a black vest and white spandex pants. It had a weapon that suspiciously resembled a cigarette lighter. It had red eyes and mechanical skin, but could be mistaken at a distance for the 'Ultimate Bad Ass of Bad Asses'.

"_Masaka__!"___

"PREPARE YOURSELVES, HUMANS."

Blackheart ZERO's Robo-Sol glowered.

"ALL YOUR BASES ARE BELONGS TO US."

John was dramatic in pose, throwing his billowing coat aside as he grasped the brim of his hat (which was not Johnny's pimping hat, but more like Kurodo Akabane's). "Leave, machine," the Pirate Lord calmly but coldly ordered. "You do not belong on my ship."

"IT WAS NOT BY **MY** WILL THAT I CAME HERE." Robo-Sol smirked. "I WAS SENT HERE BY **PWAB**, WHO WISHED TO HAVE ME CAPTURE HER FOR THEM!"

An armored finger stabbed out at a startled Akari Odine.

**"PWAB?"** John was somewhat surprised, but kept his cool. "You'd take her for those wretches who'd use her Japanese blood for themselves?"

"PERHAPS THE SAME CAN BE SAID FOR ALL PROFESSIONS."

His face turned grim as steel. "Your words are as empty as Filipino politicians' promises. **PWAB** ill needs a robot clone like you!" declared John.

"WHAT IS **PWAB**?" Robo-Sol laughed. "NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF EVIL PEOPLE WHO WANT TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD USING MASS-PRODUCED MECHA RIP-OFFS OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS THAT ARE POWERED BY CHI-RICH JAPANESE BLOOD!"

Dark Chii appeared, said "Chii!" and then vanished instantly.

"BUT ENOUGH TALK!" Robo-Sol got into his battle pose. "CENSORED YOU!"

**heaven**** or hell, final duel, let's rock!**

            Robo-Sol attacked.

John grinned.

An impermeable Bacchus Sigh was what Robo-Sol first met. Blinded by the gray mist, the robot staggered around, failing to notice the tinkle of coins hitting him. Then:

"Mist Finer Level 3!"

Robo-Sol fairly flew into the air. John followed him closely, moving faster than Johnny ever did, relentlessly hammering the robot with successive blows from the ultra-thin _katana_. Robo-Sol fell back. John was in no doubt at all who was winning.

"Not so tough as the original, now, are you?"

Robo-Sol glared. "NO, BUT HOW ABOUT THIS?"

Around the battered unit –already repairing itself– appeared an army of Robo-Sols. Far more than John could take all at once.

He didn't hesitate. "Run," John told the Jellyfish girls.

They all ran.

Save for one.

"Akari. Get out of here."

The ex-assassin girl gave the pirate lord a really condescending look. "Do you really think I'm up to following your orders? You're not Zato-_sama_, John. Besides, you'd need all the help you could get.

"Finally," added Akari in a most devious tone, "I'm not going to let one of these buffoons kill you. I'm the one supposed to kill you, not them. Got that?"

John had to grin. "Well, then. Shall we?"

"Hell, yeah." Akari grinned back. "I never wanted to live forever," she said, tossing back his own words to him.

"So do I."

The Robo-Sols attacked.

            John's orders were always perfunctorily followed by the girls, not only because he was the captain and should be obeyed, but because his commands always made sense and were for the best. But there was one Jellyfish who didn't flee, mainly because she was too busy.

As the mass-produced Robo-Sols advanced, September was still at her seat, absorbed into the better half of _War and Peace_ at four days running – an amazing accomplishment of concentration and speed reading, considering Tolstoy's masterpiece's infamous reputation in book circles. Several Robo-Sols locked onto her as their target.

Their coming actually disturbed September's peaceful reading, which elicited her raising her eyes from the book to look at the approaching Robo-Sols with a very placid expression on her face, as if she was on Prozac and meeting old acquaintances instead of bloodthirsty war machines. "Please keep quiet as I am reading," she requested. "I do not like to be disturbed while reading."

"DIE, HUMAN!" the nearest screeched at her. "DIE!"

September sighed. She flipped a bookmark onto the page she was reading before she closed the book and stood up, holding _War and Peace_ as if it was a one-handed short sword. In just the slightest of evil tones, she murmured: "You asked for it."

The Robo-Sol brought its fake _Fuenken_ down.

September calmly blocked the blow with _War and Peace_.

To the Robo-Sol's shock, its fake _Fuenken_ was stopped cold by _War and Peace_. The sword didn't even dent the book's paperback cover. Instead, the fake _Furaiken_ shattered.

September smiled grimly. "Nothing can cut through _War and Peace._"

Then she tapped the Robo-Sol on the head very lightly with the book.

Such was the thickness of _War and Peace_ that the robot was crushed like a Pepsi can run over by an eighteen-wheeler truck. The other Robo-Sols fell back.

September's eyes glinted. Her smile was pure malevolence.

"No one disturbs my reading… and lives…"

            In an ancient tomb from a misbegotten era in an equally forgotten country, Leo Tolstoy shuddered and turned over in his grave. Apparently, he had never intended his books to be the cause of such evil deeds.

            The trio of Robo-Sols that burst into one room found a surprise awaiting them.

Jan smiled foxily at the intruders. "Hello, my pretty little Robo-Boys," she purred. "I've been waiting for you handsome Machine-Boys all my life."

The Robo-Sols gagged, nearly overheating their thought matrixes. Jan wore the slinkiest of dresses with the highest of leg cuts and the lowest of neck lines. She had on high heels, her hair was tied and fixed in a Chinese bun style, rose madder lipstick was on her lips, and she had the perfumed scent of an exotic flower garden. She looked like the most luscious lovely sexy actress idol to ever attend the Oscar Awards– which she could have been, if she chose to.

Right now she gave the Robo-Sols a most gorgeous look of interest that nearly short-circuited their processing chips. "You wouldn't hurt a defenseless gal like me, would you, little Mecha-Boys? I'd love to be of any service to you, especially _fan_ service," she whispered seductively, her meaning sublime and sexual.

The Robo-Sols all nodded their heads while oil drooled from their mouths.

"Lock the doors, please, if you will?" The Robo-Sol nearest hastened to comply, piling up a ton of objects to block the entrance so no one could enter– or leave. "Thank you, dearies, I appreciate it."

"CAN WE GET IT NOW?" asked one of them.

Jan smiled. "Sure, you'll get it now, my darling little Robo-Boys." She slowly undid the spaghetti straps of her gown–

One of the Robo-Sols suddenly remembered something. Jan's way of addressing them wasn't one of adoration. It was exactly the same way _The Misadventures of Ky Kiske _villainess Wendy Weber Misterjerk condescendingly referred to her arch nemesis Ky Kiske, as if he was her sex plaything.

–and suddenly yanked her dress off.

And the readers all have an idea of what will happen now.

"Too late, little muffin-eating, hairy-armed, beret-wearing, artwork-loving, Napoleon-worshipping, mustache-wearing, bad-teethed, Kodachi-like-laughing, petite, miniature, small, tiny, short, munchkin, small-framed, jailbait, _yaoi_-a-riffic, Sol-pair-able, Barbara Steisand-ticket holding, Oscar Wilde-reading, leather pant-wearing, pretty American Robo-Boys!"

            In _The Misadventures of Ky Kiske, _Invader-Zam4 momentarily recovers long enough from his comment to violently protest "Sheo, you plagiarizing swine! How _dare_ you!" before he again fell into his debilitating coma/sickness/degeneration.

            The gown gone, Jan was revealed to be wearing a tight black leather outfit beneath it. In her hands were an array of whips and sticks and even a copy of Ivy Valentine's sword beneath, tools whose variety of uses in domination _hentai_ only ADV can even begin to comprehend and more moral people would blench to even begin to think of.

One of Jan's quirks that weren't mentioned in the previous chapter was that she happened to be a closet dominatrix.

Jan laughed evilly. The Robo-Sols shrieked in horror.

Screams of pain, pleads, the sounds of whip-cracking and maniacal feminine laughter echoed from that room, warning everyone to stay clear.

            The main contingent of Robo-Sols had it especially rough. They'd gone after March, only to blunder into their worst nightmare. Every step they took triggered booby traps of all kinds: Pits with stakes, spiked battering rams triggered by trip wires, automated machine gun nests, land mines, laser beam fences, and a showerhead that rusted the joints of any Robo-Sol foolish enough to allow itself to be sprayed. Casualties were heavy, but the surviving Robo-Sols pressed onwards.

Then, they were accosted by a new peril.

"WHAT THE insert Sol Badguy-esque expletive here?"

It looked like a cross between a golden hamster and a teddy bear. It was more than six feet tall, was colored light brown with dark spots all around its plump body, had big brown eyes, wore a green bowler hat, and was very cutely silly. It also babbled in a language that could never be understood by anyone in the universe.

The Robo-Sols halted. "EH?"

"Fumoffu!"

Meet Bonta-_kun_, new star of _Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu,_ a mascot suit that March and October totally revamped into a bullet-proof-armored, sensor-riddled, rapid-moving miniature walking battle outfit with the firepower of a battleship and the cuteness of an furry anime critter– and which proceeded to give the Robo-Sols the biggest ass-kicking of the universe, a serving of pain and a helping of destruction that can only be exceeded by the guy the fakes had in vain tried to copy.

            Somewhere far away, Sol Badguy grumbled to himself. "I thought my story arc was over? Sheo Darren might be gone, but the Effect named after him is alive and well…"

Kagura glomped him.

            July was the unluckiest of the Jellyfish pirates. She had the confidence of a wilted daffodil in a garden of roses, was easily panicked, had a horrible sense of direction and seemed like the most helpless of the girls. Right now, she was backed into a corner of the dead-end alley she had taken while fleeing the Robo-Sols who now had her cornered and approached her menacingly.

Could there be anyone else with worse luck than her?

Yes: The Robo-Sols chasing her.

"Please…" July was very frightened. "Don't come near me…"

Leering, the Robo-Sols reached for her.

July shut her eyes and screamed.

The incredible happened.

A fist shot out in an uppercut, sending the nearest Robo-Sol into orbit. The fighter unleashed a Dragonball-esque martials arts barrage of punches, karate chops and kicks on the remaining and badly shocked Robo-Sols. When the pulverizing hammer-blows stopped, there was five seconds of silence. Then there were explosions.

When July opened her eyes after the long silence that followed the explosions, she saw all the Robo-Sols were destroyed. She blinked and, puzzled, asked aloud, "Who did this?"

If she looked at her hands, July would have seen the streaks of oil on them– and realized the person responsible for saving her… was her.

The Fourth of July? Yeah!

            In a far away place, a muscular man in black pants with seven scars on his chest and a mask that defied belief stood framed against the desert's sandstorm.

(Lone Wolf NEO, you know who this guy is. Our secret… )

"_Sukebe__ Shinken _has no equal."

            The Robo-Sols crossed the line of no return when they entered the kitchen. Just like with any intruder who dared violate a home's sanctity, the whole household turned a united front against them. In this case, even the battleground was hostile to the attackers.

The kitchen had been the domain of November and the cook for a very long time now. It was their own private space where they reigned supreme. Even the captain didn't countermand their decisions on hearth and stove. Certainly John knew how to cook, and sometimes he tried out his own skill at the culinary arts. But November and the cook were his masters in the kitchen. Here, their word was law. They fought a somewhat losing battle to keep people who shouldn't be within five feet of a stove in the kitchen. The memories of Dizzy and May still stung them badly. The kitchen was still not fully repaired from the time Dizzy accidentally blew it up. But, if they didn't fight for it at all, then they fought not at all.

They fought for it. A man's house is his castle. A chef's kitchen is her fortress. Damned if November and the cook would let a bunch of Sol Badguy rip-offs playing the role of Viking pillagers into their bastion of sovereignty.

They planned an ambush that would, if all went well, turn into a full-fledged counterattack that would drive the enemy into the sea (air, actually, since this was an _air_ship and not a naval one, but the figure of speech applies). February, June, August, October, December and the cat backed them up. They also had the support of a totally expected –for them, that is; for readers, this force should be totally _un_expected– group of volunteers who felt the sane way they did and were willing to fight for the home they shared.

The Robo-Sols cautiously advanced into the kitchen, only to find it seemingly empty. But the place was packed to the brim with enemies keeping themselves hidden until the time was right to launch their holy war.

The first inkling a Robo-Sol had that something was wrong was also his last.

"EH? WHY IS THE STOVE LEFT OPEN?"

November rose from her hiding spot. "Attack!"

            When he finally set down the printed draft he had just proofread, the look of intense disbelief on Loki's face told Yuuki that the entire concept worked. Loki was a hard sell on gut-punch humor. To get a rise out of him like this meant the suggestions was tops. That Girl herself could just barely stop herself from laughing her head off at the very audacity of it– that is, for only about a minute, more or less. Then Yuuki had to escape to the soundproofed bathroom in order to indeed howl her head off without frightening other people into thinking she was out of her mind.

Others had fared little better. Reiya was instantly smitten by the sight. The poor little girl was affected so much that it was all aside from Loki she could talk about. Understandably, Yuumura Kirika, Hoshino Ruri and Ayanami Rei sort of missed the humor of the situation, though the former did understand why Chloe cringed, seeing some of the players in the field were quite familiar and had bad imports for _Shin_ _Noir_: The fork. But Elde Talonn had immediately burst out into chuckles. The Wanderer had a good appreciation for humor, and so did Tessa Testarossa and the other _Ultrasaurus_ occupants. Even Lumiere found it funny. Worst case was Earl Osborne, who was nearly hospitalized but bounced back, even after watching the scene playing on loop a hundred times.

Nevertheless, Yuuki couldn't help but sweetly and teasingly inquire, "Well, what do you think, Loki-_kun_?"

Loki gave her the most level gaze a disapproving parent could use on a most precociously adventurous truant child. Then he grimaced very faintly –his highest expression of disapproving amusement– and said:

"Walt Disney is not going to be very happy about this."

"I knew you liked it." Yuuki's grin was quite impertinent. "Sheo loves it. I do, too, and even Four-_chan_does. Don't you," she suddenly whispered mysteriously, "Don't you agree, too, Four-_chan_?"

            From that deep dark space of her own creation she was secluded within, Four was of the same opinion. "Quite good, Yuuki-_chan_, it's all quite a good riot."

            Just what was it that got Yuuki, Loki, Four and the whole gang so worked up?

Well, for one thing, it massacred all of the Robo-Sols. The mechanical 'Badguy-copy' bad guys failed to put up even a shadow of a fight, so overwhelmed by the element of surprise and the shock value of the trap that the defenders had been all over the outnumbered robots before they could do anything.

For another thing, people who have watched Disney's _Beauty and the Beast_ will remember the scene where the townsfolk warily entered the Beast's castle– and were promptly mobbed by all the talking furniture and utensils who lived there.

Translated to the kitchen, which was full of sharp instruments and raw food, the knives and forks and pots and plates ensured that the battle was a one-sided massacre.

Here is some running commentary from the battle.

**A Robo-Sol:** "YEARGH! I'VE BEEN SLICED, DICED AND JULIENNED!"

**Another Robo-Sol:** "RUN! IT'S THE ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES!"

(Opening theme from that particular cartoon, _Attack of the Killer Tomatoes,_ begins playing out loud, freaking the other Robo-Sols out.)

**Yet another Robo-Sol:** "I WILL NEVER TAKE THE DISHES OUT EVER AGAIN!"

**Yakov**** Smirnoff:** "In Soviet Russia, _dishes_ take _you_ out..."

**Blackheart ZERO:** "And once again, the Blackheart says, 'Nevermore'!"

**November:** "Maehara Shinobu School of Anything-Goes Cooking: Skillet of Doom Bash Attack!"

**June:** "Go, November!"

**August:** "Yay, November!"

**December:** "November 3:16!"

**The Cook:** "You may take out lives, but you will never take... our kitchen!"****

**October:** "Hmm, rubber band plus butter knife added to rice paste glue and random rusty nail with copper wiring and a set of Eveready AAA dry cell batteries equals Doom's Plasma Cannon. Not quite the Chibi Killstick… but it'll do…"

**Person WMA:** "Chibi Killstick reigns supreme."

**Largo****:** "My enemies will know PH34R again..."

**Piroko****:** _"Baka"_ shoots Largo

**Largo:** "When I respawn, you are so censored dead."

**Ruri****:** "_Baka__..."_

            _Ils__ ne passeront pas._ The cry of valor at the tragic Battle of Verdun, where two million men died failing to force a decision in the Great European Conflict, where French and German soldiers fought to death resolving the War, when uncommon valor was common virtue. _Ils__ ne passeront pas._

They shall not pass.

Akari and John were living back to back, fighting off the hordes of Robo-Sols flooding them from all quarters, the enemy coming from all points of the compass. Both fought to protect the other's flank and back. Both fought with all the skill and power and determination they had– and then, when close to the failing point, somehow tapped reserves they never thought they could harness, continuing beyond human endurance.

They shall not pass.

Numbers didn't mean anything. Wounds didn't faze them. Death was nothing. "I ain't got time to bleed!" snarled Akari, unleashing a storm of throwing daggers in the form of playing cards even as the mechanical rabbits she released homed in on the nearest enemy and blew up or chewed the Robo-Sol apart, as her swords struck again and again. For his part, John didn't look like he was sheathing his sword anymore in traditional _battoujitsu__;_ he was attacking so fiercely and so rapidly that most of the time the katana was cutting a foe down, spent only a moment in the sheath and then was out again doing its killing work.

They shall not pass.

Robo-Sols came. Robo-Sols attacked. Robo-Sols died.

They shall not pass.

Finally, only one was left. The true one, the one created by Blackheart ZERO and subsequently consigned by Lone Wolf SIX to the Abyss, only to reappear and be defeated by the now-Lone Wolf NEO.

Robo-Sol was not moved by the destruction of its army. It was its plan all along: To wear down the humans with superior numbers until it was sufficiently repaired and the targets weakened considerably. Then Robo-Sol would strike.

It struck.

Just as he finished off the last of his enemies, John was hit by a cheap shot launched by the backstabbing Robo-Sol. Akari saw him go down, black-clad form wreathed in smoke–

_Was that blood?_

John failed to move.

Just like Venom earlier. Just like Zato-_sama_.

_Not again. Not again,_ pleaded Akari with a God who might or might not be listening to her, seeing in the fallen captain her precious Zato-_sama_. _Not again, please don't let me lose him again. Not again, please, not again._

Robo-Sol hit Akari herself. She went down, almost blacking out if not for the force of her will and the thought of John and Zato dead.

_It's not fair. It's just not fair. I can't agree to that. I–_

Above her, Robo-Sol laughed derisively.

_I just won't agree!_

Akari's world went red. Down on her knees, she managed to entangle Robo-Sol with her cape. Then–

**"Instant Kill: I See Saw You!"**

As the cape fluttered away, Robo-Sol reappeared from it, now stuck inside a big wooden box with only his head, hands and feet sticking out. Next to him, Akari yanked hard on the starter cord of her cutting tool to begin her final act.

It's a common sight to see magicians sawing people in half. Akari's Instant Kill takes the idea one step further in terms of mayhem. Instead of a hacksaw or a conventional wood saw, she uses a 100 horsepower diesel-driven chainsaw–

"AW, DAMN–"

–And promptly loses control of the monster, the vicious chainsaw bucking her around wildly before heading straight for Robo-Sol with a vengeance–

"–TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE–"

            Lone Wolf NEO shudders and looks around. He had felt the chainsaw-toting presence again for some odd reason.

_            The girl stood in the midst of the Mayship's smoking decks and the recent violence wrought by hands of her own bidding and those of others who thought to defy Fate with sword and war and magic and technology. Her red-trimmed cape of sable flew wild in the wind even as the twin swords borne in her hands ran freely with the dark slick liquid that was the precious life fluid of her prey even as they soaked the floor. Ruined remnants of her slain foes lay all around her, reminders of the battle that ended just now and the costs it entailed– and the victory it embodied. Here was a dismembered hand; there, a severed leg. The head of her hapless victim itself was ground beneath her heels, eyes empty of light, permanently silenced._

_She surveyed the devastation all around her with cat's eyes –one blood red, the other sea blue, summer flame and winter frost, Hell or Heaven– and rendered her judgment of all she had accomplished and of what she had allowed herself to become._

_Akari__ Odine wept._

            She felt the arms around her, then, comforting her, reassuring her. The scent was there once more. The peace of home was there again.

Like Zato-_sama__._

"You don't have to cry, Akari. You're strong. You did the right thing. But if you want to cry, go ahead. Crying makes it better. Crying lets your heart feel lighter. Even devils may cry. But you're human, and so you must cry."

Akari looked up to him.

It was John, of course.

Just like with Venom and Millia, or Zappa and Megumi so recently, or the coming pairings in this story, _The World Within And Without_. Or, from _The__ Wedding Night 2, _Bridget and May, or Ky and Dizzy, or Rock and Hotaru, or Sol and Kagura.

Just like all of those love stories, this one ends happy.

Crying, Akari Odine buried her face into John's chest, hugged him tight, and never really did let go ever again.

_Nevermore,_ said Blackheart ZERO and Shakespeare, indeed.

_Nevermore._

             "History truly is an endless waltz," a voice decided. "The vicious cycle goes around and around, repeating itself over the days and weeks and months and years and centuries and millennia, humankind's joys and follies over and over again in bittersweet tribute. Nothing really ends; everything always goes on.

"So is it with me."

Four looked deep into the emptiness of the Door of Night, seeking the one she longed for all this time in that one action.

"Where are you? Just where are you?"

There is no answer. There shall be none for now. Only Fate will tell.

Sooner or later, Fate will tell.

Sighing, Four reluctantly turned away. The dragon of Time waited. The future girl of wandering fame beckoned. She must go to them, fulfill her part of Fate's Tapestry however boring and distasteful and hopeless it seemed for her.

But not before wondering where he is– and when he will be back for her.

            _"Sheo…"_


	12. Kanon Arc Part 1: Mai

_Akari Odine wept._

_._

_She felt the arms around her, then, comforting her, reassuring her. The scent was there once more. The peace of home was there again._

_Like Zato-sama._

"_You don't have to cry, Akari. You're strong. You did the right thing. But if you want to cry, go ahead. Crying makes it better. Crying lets your heart feel lighter. Even devils may cry. But you're human, and so you must cry."_

_._

_Just like all of those love stories, this one ends happy._

_Crying, Akari Odine buried her face into John's chest, hugged him tight, and never really did let go ever again._

_Nevermore, said Blackheart ZERO and Shakespeare, indeed._

_Nevermore._

_._

"_History truly is an endless waltz," a voice decided. "The vicious cycle goes around and around, repeating itself over the days and weeks and months and years and centuries and millennia, humankind's joys and follies over and over again in bittersweet tribute. Nothing really ends; everything always goes on._

"_So is it with me."_

_Four looked deep into the emptiness of the Door of Night, seeking the one she longed for all this time in that one action._

"_Where are you? Just where are you?"_

_There is no answer. There shall be none for now. Only Fate will tell._

_Sooner or later, Fate will tell._

_Sighing, Four reluctantly turned away. The dragon of Time waited. The future girl of wandering fame beckoned. She must go to them, fulfill her part of Fate's Tapestry however boring and distasteful and hopeless it seemed for her._

_But not before wondering where he is– and when he will be back for her._

_._

"_Sheo..."_

.

.

**Guilty Gear**

**The World Within And Without**

.

**Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**Overseen By:** Sheo Darren and Yuuki Darren

**.**

**Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities. The featured song for this chapter is _Last Regets_ from _Kanon._

.

**Dedication: **For **Lone Wolf NEO**, the lone wolf who keeps on going despite rewrites and edits. This is for you and Hikki, Kiba-_san_.

.

**Kanon Arc**

**Chapter Eleven**

**Part One of Five Parts**

.

**Kawasumi Mai**

.

Beneath the _sakura_ tree the girl silently stood still. Cherry blossom petals gently fell about her with the quiet grace of samurai's last honorable moments in a life of battle. Windless, they fell

Her hands rested lightly upon the pommel and grip of her demon-quelling Western short sword, touching but not gripping, weightless but present. Her eyes were closed as of one in deep sleep, but in fact she was very much awake and quite aware of everything around her.

In the slightest of breezes, twin locks of coal black hair flanking her boyishly pretty face stirred, even as the long curly ponytail bound in place by her purple-blue ribbon bow followed its lesser twins' suit.

Around her, the world went still.

Moving so fast that her motion fooled the human eye, the girl struck out at the lone leaf that fell from the cherry tree, the target she had been patiently waiting for an hour already, only a slight blur of green amongst the pinkish-white rain of _sakura_ petals, _battoujitsu_ art honed and practiced to perfection, her sword a shining length of slashing steel. Just as blindingly fast, so much that it seemed one continuous maneuver stemming from her attack instead of two separate motions, she arrested her stroke, nimbly reversed her weapon and slid the sword back into its scabbard as smoothly as water spilling from a fountain spring, leaving only a few inches of its blade outside the sheath.

She waited.

The leaf fell before her, featherlike, a snowflake as green as her own eyes.

The sword slid completely home with a resolute hiss.

Her eyes, serenely stoic emerald orbs, were open and expectant.

"End," she murmured decisively.

The leaf split into two and drifted down quickly to land at her feet.

Around her, the world went on.

Kawasumi Mai –dark-haired stoic Western blade _battoujitsu_-fighting Sword Girl, former servant of the Box of Doom and ex-leader of its Eternal Fighters Zero Team (sponsored by SBC Packaging: "We pack stuff right!") and Sheo Darren's favorite _Kanon_ girl by lieu of her character design being based on Takane Hibiki– let her breath out and relaxed.

"It's good..."

x-x-x

The previous year had been hectic for Mai. After the last battle of _The Wedding Night 2_, she had spent her time in intensive training to improve her swordsmanship and was tutored by the best in the business. Her teacher was _not_ Elde Talonn, though. He might be the greatest legendary swordsman in both history and the world, but the Wanderer was also realistic on his capabilities. When it came to teaching people– well, though he tried hard at everything, he just didn't have the time for it. Elde was too busy dealing with various crises all around the world, the Wanderer being a firefighter who put out fires before they got too big. And truth be told, Elde was always far better as a student than as a teacher. Just ask Takane Hibiki.

But Mai knew she had a lot to learn as a Swordswoman and as a Person. Not just on swordsmanship, but about everything a swordswoman like her needed to know. Things like honor, responsibility, discipline, humility, and that most cherished of precepts in all of martial arts: Being a shield for others. She remembered Elde explaining that founding principle one clear pleasant day. The Swordsman spoke casually yet reverently, his gaze distant, his tone telling Mai how much it meant to him and all of their warrior kind.

.

"_A martial artist must become a shield for another. He or she must find someone to dedicate themselves to and protect that person from harm. It is the core of all true martial arts. Martial arts are meant to protect. They can only achieve and exceed their full potential if they are used to protect others. Thus, in order to become the true perfect martial artist, one must protect another person._

"_You must be a shield for others, Mai. For me, she was once Hitomi Barrens; now, she is Yuumura Kirika. For Lone Wolf NEO, she is Hibiki. For Person, she's Mina. You, too, must, find a person to shield. Only then can you come into your own as a warrior– and as a human being."_

.

And she wanted to learn all of it. It was the new purpose in her life. The pursuit of knowledge of what she should be and what she _could_ be entranced her. Having rejected her previous life as a pawn of the Box of Doom, she desperately wanted to succeed in her new one as the Swordie Girl named Kawasumi Mai. She didn't show it externally, she was stoic by temperament a la Ayanami Rei, but she felt the pressure and responded accordingly. It was all the more special to her considering who she now was.

After all, Mai was a Wanderer apparent, a potential candidate as an immortal journeying sword.

So, since he himself felt unworthy and was unable to devote enough time to teach such a special girl, Elde very sensibly decided to do the next best thing: When in doubt, call for an import to take your place.

Despite what one might immediately think, he _did not_ go to Hibiki and ask her to teach Mai for him. Elde had the highest regards for his _sensei_; he was, after all, a product of the _Musou Maden Ryu_ as taught by the last scion of the Takane clan. Certainly it could be said that he turned out quite nicely. 'Exemplary' is more like it.

But there were things that even Takane Hibiki did not know and could never teach, experience the like of which came only after a thousand lifetimes' worth of journeying. Elde himself was only recently come into his mantle, only a few years the Wanderer despite being the special case Fate made in order to defy what She Herself had declared canon. In some ways he was younger than Mai, especially in terms of life experience and despite his appearance as a twenty year old young man. And though there was no doubt in his mind that Mai was a possible Wanderer, Elde wasn't exactly sure how to bring her potential out. His own path was a haphazardly tumultuous story (recounted in a separate story that Sheo Darren hopes to sell to GONZO or GAINAX as a real anime). Elde didn't want that to happen to Mai. She would be different, he swore to himself. _She'd have it easier than I had to do._

Thus, since one Wanderer was illegible, another had to take his place.

The difficulty with Reia Namie wasn't tracking her down, though that itself was a challenge, what with her endless centuries of constant traveling that Elde couldn't begin to match if he tried. It was in persuading her to abandon her indifference to her surroundings and to take a more active role in the world that she wandered within and without. The original Wanderer was not a sociable person by nature. She had been alone almost all her life– and preferred to keep it that way. Resigned to the idea of an inevitable Fate –even with Elde having disproved that, she kept to that belief out of millennial familiarity–, aloof and unflappable, silent as the grave, she was a hard sell on most anything and definitely the last person one would want as a teacher.

But she responded to Elde's call. If there was anything that could shake the Nameless Wander Girl out of her incessant roving and bring her walking (she never ran, she always walked a deliberate pace) to you, it would be the arrival of a potential new Wanderer. It had only taken a cursory glance at Mai –a glance delivered with impassiveness that was returned in equal measure by the recipient that made observer and observed twin sisters, they were both so pokerfaced that Elde had to chuckle at the sight– and then Reia curtly cut off her younger contemporary's attempt at introductions and declared in her perfunctory manner that Mai was 'educable'. Thus began a period of time that, if not exactly like "The Cruel Tutelage of Pai Mei" from _Kill Bill Vol. 2_, then sort of approximated Himura Kenshin's apprenticeship to Hiko Seijuro, it was that difficult.

But it was a happy time for Mai. Finally, she was well on her way to fulfilling her new purpose in life. She attacked her training with the energy and enthusiasm of a kindergartener, quickly mastering new skills and developing herself in ways that could not be described by words alone. Reia was a strict taskmaster, but an understanding one whose innate aloofness had mellowed with Elde's influence. From time to time the Wanderer dropped by to check on Mai's progress and fence with her a bit and jokingly plead with Reia to go easy on his friend, pleas which were pretended to ignore but quietly implemented. Kirika accompanied Elde at all these times; Noir was a good sparring partner with a sword, almost as skilled as her boyfriend and making Mai wonder why she needed a gun when Kirika could lay it down with the best swordsmen and swordswomen.

And there was that androgynous kid who accompanied them: Kino. Supposedly Kirika's adopted younger sibling, Kino certainly seemed the part, as good with a gun and being even more morose and withdrawn than _nee-san_ Kirika. It was also impossible to ascertain whether Kino was a boy or a girl. Kino was handsome to the point of being pretty (or was it the other way around? Mai was not certain) but otherwise very genderless, lacking any sort of masculine or feminine definition. Kino also talked in a gender-neutral way, using _watashi_ instead of _boku_ or _atashi_ when referring to himself/herself and countering any gender-specific references such as "little girl" or "boy" with "My name isn't 'little girl/boy'. It's Kino." Though admittedly a bit curious about Kino's true gender, Mai didn't bother asking, instead settling for a mutual understanding that bordered on distant friendship.

All in all, life seemed perfect for Mai.

x-x-x

"Mai."

That perfect life was coming to an end right now.

It wasn't like Kurata Sayuri to be angry. She was once a sweet girl with seemingly unlimited patience and unshakeable faith in the people she cared for. Time spent in service of the notoriously evil Box of Doom and its many incarnations had changed her a lot, yet the said aspect was one that resisted corruption somehow. But one thing had become the sole rankling issue with her ever since it took place near the ending of _The Wedding Night 2:_ Betrayal in the defection of the girl she considered as her best friend.

Kawasumi Mai.

"Sayuri." Mai was taken aback by the vehemence in her old friend's voice and the anger in the approaching Sayuri's burning eyes, but the dark-haired girl forced herself to believe that there was nothing wrong– until she asked, "Why are you–"

Before she could complete her sentence, Sayuri slapped her.

Mai was stunned. The sheer unexpected violence of that act was out of her consciousness' grasp. It was not that Sayuri's slap hurt; it did little than. The fact was that Mai never thought her friend could do this, that the sweet gentle Sayuri could actually want to hurt her. This was Sayuri! She was her best friend. She was the girl who stood alongside Mai all the while everyone else was rejecting her because of her strangeness. Why? Why?

"_Doushita..._" Mai was strong and the blow without true strength, but why was it that she felt so weak? "Sayuri,_ doushita no?_ Why?"

"Traitor." Sayuri's anger manifested as an unnatural calm, cold, biting, hateful but restrained. "You betrayed our Master. You went over to the side of our enemies."

"Elde is not our enemy. He never was and never wanted to be. We only made him our enemy," admitted Mai. "It was our fault!"

"And it is your fault that you left me," Sayuri coldly returned.

An icy cold pit formed inside Mai's chest. "I–"

"You left me, Mai! After all we had been through, after all I've given up and done for you, this is how you repay me? You left me all alone!" Suddenly hysterical, Sayuri grabbed the front of Mai's blouse and pulled the latter girl up close to her own face, where the tears streaming down her face were all too painfully clear. "Why didn't you tell me?" pleaded the auburn-haired girl in a voice so soft and vulnerable. "I'd have agreed with you and gone with you, and you know it. You just needed to tell me that you don't want to do it anymore, and I'd agree with you and help you, no questions asked. Why didn't you tell me? Why, Mai, why, why, why?"

It hurt. All the more so because it was the truth: Mai betrayed their Master, but more to the point, she had betrayed Sayuri, the last person she ever wanted to hurt. Sayuri had been there for her from the very start, yet Mai had never told her why she left. She'd just made her mind up and abandoned her without warning. She deserted years of friendship in a spurt of impulse.

She was indeed in her own mind the guilty.

Unable to answer, her heart and mind and soul utterly destroyed, Mai looked away. "I don't know, Sayuri. I just don't know."

Racked with final sobs, Sayuri let go of the girl she once thought was her soul mate and stepped back, away from the person who had hurt her like no one ever had. "I hate you," she murmured softly to Mai as much as to herself, "And thought I still care for you, though I don't want to do this–"

"Sayuri," Mai whispered back, not wanting what was going to happen yet powerless to do anything. "Sayuri, _onegai, dame." Please, no..._

Brown eyes burned red.

"I'll kill you," Sayuri murmured.

Behind her, the rest of the Eternal Fighters Zero girls materialized. Vampire girl Ikumi Amasawa, ice girl Misaka Shiori, sleepy pajama Keroppi girl Minaze Nayuki, bokken-wielding Misaka Kaori, mystery sundress girl Unknown, final boss Kanna, and Sayuri herself. The full strength of the EFZ Team was assembled for this battle

Mai was alone. Elde was away on a mission with Kirika and Kino, investigating rumors of a fallen Holy Knight and the troubling resurgence of the PWAB in Lone Wolf NEO's world. Her _sensei _Reia had left early in the morning, citing private and personal reasons that she was reluctant to shed light on or even mention, only that she would be back within a few days' time. It was indeed the absence of the first Wanderer that had brought Mai here to the cherry tree in the first place. Today was a break from her hectic training schedule, a moment to relax and reflect upon what she had learned so far as a Swordswoman and Wanderer-in-training. She had brought her sword along only by habit– or was it Fate that arranged it so? Was it Fated that she was armed thus to protect herself in a battle that was the stuff of her nightmares, but which was absolutely necessary in that she would finally and totally reject all of her past for the new future she had chosen for herself?

Whatever it was, Mai only had herself, her skills and her trusty sword Ghost Hunter to rely upon in this fight.

Her sword. Ironically it was Sayuri who named it, as Mai herself did not really care enough to do so. Thus it came to be known as Ghost Hunter, the demon-quelling Western blade, Mai's talisman against the twilight of her own heart given material form. It had served her well in the lonely midnight battles of her past, against the shadows whose nature only she could understand and combat– shadows that she had created from her loneliness and apathy, ultimately grotesque reflections of her own unhappiness.

Now, would Ghost Hunter be enough to stand against her misguided friend and her former team?

Mai knew it and her self were more than enough. But she would not draw Ghost Hunter yet. Not yet.

"_Attaku_," Sayuri ordered. _Attack._

Ikumi went in first. Mai was ready, yanking out a strip of paper as she dodged with speed training had immensely increased, pinning the paper onto the startled Ikumi's forehead. Ikumi slowed down and then found she could no longer move. The paper was actually _ofuda_, sacred magic spells that restrained demonic or unholy powers. Since Ikumi was a vampire, she was effectively sealed and helpless.

Shiori was next. Before their fight could properly begin, Mai saw someone over the nearby bridge: None other than the infamous "Ugu" of _Kanon_, Ayu Tsukimiya, nibbling on Taiyaki (ice popsicle). Mai pointed this factoid out, and Shiori –always a sucker (in more ways than one) for ice cream– ran over to ask for some.

_Why does that sound so bad?_ was the fleeting afterthought.

Immediately Nayuki took Shiori's place. Before attacking, she decided to power up with some jam. Really; it's a real move of hers from EFZ. At least, she was going to, and then Mai stole her jar in order to get a taste. Then she 'accidentally' broke the jar. Nayuki cried. Fans of Nayuki want to kill Sheo for writing this. Sheo (wherever he is) laughs their threats off.

"Mai,_ hidoi desu..."_

Swearing vengeance for her 'sister', Kaori attacked with her 'burning bokken'. Having no other choice, Mai finally drew her own weapon and parried the mighty blow– unintentionally but thankfully chopping the bokken in half. After all, what is even the hardest of hardwood to thirty inches of cold sharp ghost-strengthened steel? Besides, it was just a _bokken_, not an _arnis_ stick. If it was an _arnis_ stick– but the narrative digresses. Ghost Hunter slid back into place, unneeded, Kaori being almost totally helpless without her big stick.

(Somewhere far away, both Venom and Axl Low sneeze.)

Unknown was the second most powerful character in the game, but Mai knew her weakness: She tossed a violin into Unknown's arms. To Sayuri's disgust, Unknown suddenly stopped fighting and began playing the instrument with a mania and madness one finds only in obsessive perfectionist musicians. "I'm sorry," wailed the little girl, who was the younger version of that girl from _Air _who played a violin. "But I just can't help it! Something's making me want to play this violin!"

"Is it me," Sayuri grumbled, "Or is the world full of idiots like you?"

There was Kanna to deal with now. Being a fighting game boss with all the power and characteristics and _cheapness_ of all such bosses (_especially_ the SNK kind) all gamers (_especially_ the SNK ones) really hate, she forced Mai to draw Ghost Hunter and prepare for a serious battle. The first assault was almost beyond the Sword Girl's limit, but somehow Mai grimly held on, Fortress Block indestructible. Kanna flung more and more cutely destructive attacks her way. Again, somehow, Mai withstood them all, patiently biding her counterattack for the one moment that would count the most.

Kanna prepared to launch her Overdrive.

In Mai's hands, the spirit blade began to shimmer.

Her eyes came wide open.

"Now!"

Ghosts of past, present and future exploded from Ghost Hunter's length, swirling possessively around Mai in the form of murky white mist, protecting her from the barrage of destructive laser-light feathers a la Justine Harrier's Wings of Verdure. She had borrowed the idea from Rune Minor of _Iron Maiden and Dowser Knight_: Summon ghosts to do your fighting for you. It was a dangerous tactic. Present at all times during the spell was the chance that the spirits might very well turn upon the summoner instead of their target. But Mai had nothing else that could stand against Kanna's sheer cheapness. Besides, she had faith in these ghosts.

After all, they were just the darker half of her self.

Shielded by the globe of lost souls, Mai did the unpredictable: She attacked in the middle of her opponent's attack. And because her Counter out-prioritized Kanna's Overdrive, Mai canceled Kanna's attack.

And now, it was time for another borrowed attack: The Overdrive Mai copied from Hibiki, reinforced by the power of her own personal tribulations and depression and doubts in the form of the army of ghosts, steeled by the new strength she had gained as the Wanderer Apparent, her unbeatable Super.

"No Fear Faint!"

There was blackness, and then there was light. Sliding to a halt behind Kanna, Mai sheathed all but a few precious inches of Ghost Hunter, the spirits following the blade home into its sealing scabbard until none remained. Sighing, she closed her eyes and resolutely murmured: "End."

Kanna fell down.

Only one opponent left.

Sayuri.

Suddenly, Mai felt weary beyond belief. Suddenly, she didn't want to fight anymore.

Suddenly, she didn't want to live anymore.

"Sayuri."

"Mai."

Both girls sadly stared at each other.

"We have to." Unhappily Sayuri shook her head. "We just have to."

Mai didn't reply.

Sayuri started forward, breaking into a sustained run, glowing with all the power she could gather, not a fighter by nature but willing to die trying to prove herself as one. Against her oncoming rush Mai gripped Ghost Hunter so hard that her knuckles went white. She didn't want to do this, didn't want to draw her sword and fight the girl who was once –and, in her mind, still was– her best friend.

_Why are we so gentle with each other? Is it because despite ourselves and what we say and do, we still care for each other?_

And she knew now what to do. Her hands left Ghost Hunter, the sword unneeded, useless. There was one thing she could do to end all of this, one action that could save her friend– and herself.

Mai hugged Sayuri.

The latter's momentum carried them a few steps more before they halted. Sayuri could not believe it, that Mai was hugging her like she'd never want to let go or risk falling off into an abyss that knew no end, as if she was the anchor that kept her moored safely in the turbulent sea that was life unpredictable in all of its glory.

_But I thought– I thought–_

"I'm sorry." Was that a sob? There was dampness at Sayuri's shoulder that was unaccountable for anything except tears– but tears from Kawasumi Mai? It was impossible– but life is the foremost impossibility, after all, and what is such a small thing like this to compare to life?

"I'm so sorry, Sayuri." There was honest truth in Mai's words, the truth of recognizing one's errors that would rather be forgotten– but must be confronted, lest they be forgotten and become mere footnotes or regret and nothing else. "I shouldn't have left you all alone; I should have told you everything. You trusted and cared for me far more than you did for yourself because I was your friend. I betrayed that trust in ignorance– but now I know and acknowledge my mistakes. And now I ask forgiveness of you whom I have hurt.

"I'm sorry, Sayuri. I'm just so sorry," Mai admitted in tears. "I'm sorry."

Sayuri cried.

"Thank you, Mai. Thank you."

x-x-x

.

_arigatou iwanaiyo_

_zutto shimatte oku_

_sayonara ha kagerinai_

_yume no ato shizuka ni oritatsu_

_._

_ryouteni ha furisosogu kakera wo_

_itsumademo itsumademo daite_

_saiko made waratteru tsuyosa wo_

_mou shitteita_

_._

x-x-x

The presence was suddenly there, breaking the tender moment as surely as a thunderclap shatters the stillness of the night. Mai tensed when she felt it; in her arms, Sayuri went cold. Their gazes fell upon the figure cloaked and hooded not ten feet away from them.

"Sayuri?"

The girl was frightened. "Oh, no... he's here."

"Huh?" Mai's eyes were wide. "Then, this man is–"

Before she could finish, the figure grasped the front of its concealing cloak and threw it away, dramatically revealing himself in the light.

It was a man, but not any ordinary man. He was a marital artist, but he was not just _any_ martial artist. He was six foot tall and buff like hell, his entire body muscled and ripped not in the traditional bodybuilder style but more like if his muscles were flesh-toned armor plating. There were seven scars on his chest, the mark of the invincible martial art of Polaris– _Hokuto Shinken, _"The Fist of the North Star". The man would have passed for Kenchiro_,_ but for one glaring difference.

For the most startling facet the man possessed was the striking monstrosity perched where a normal person's head would be, the feature that riveted all's attention to it and defied logic and invited disbelief of a sane God having created such a thing.

It was a fish head mask.

"_Masaka..."_

The fish head masked figure glared in a most sinisterly familiar way.

"_Sukebe Shinken_ has no equal."

The Plaplaman cometh...

x-x-x

Four smiled, even as beside her darkness like none other coalesces into material form. "It begins, does it not?"

"Indeed," her companion agreed. "Now, things become interesting."

"Indeed."

x-x-x

Not so far away, a young man smiles as the same breeze that teased Mai earlier greets him. "_Yokatta._ This isn't so bad, I guess."

So saying, he takes the first step Fate has set for him, towards the girl who would share life and soul with him...

.

.

_**To Be Continued...**_

.

.

Next on _The World Within And Without_:

.

The Plaplaman has come to take vengeance upon the girl who had betrayed him in the past. Can Mai stand against the sheer power of the _Sukebe Shinken,_ the Fist of the Porn Star? What is Four up to, and who is this darkness she has summoned? And who is the mysterious newcomer? What is the role he will play in the life of the Wanderer apparent? Finally, where on Heaven, Earth and Hell is the fabled Nameless Wander Girl when you need her?

Next Chapter: Part 2 – _**Kokurabuji Hikki**._


	13. Kanon Arc Part 2: Hikki

_Why are we so gentle with each other? Is it because despite ourselves and what we say and do, we still care for each other?_

_  
"I'm sorry, Sayuri. I'm just so sorry," Mai admitted in tears. "I'm sorry."_

_Sayuri cried._

"_Thank you, Mai. Thank you."_

_  
It was a fish head mask._

"_Masaka..."_

_The fish head masked figure glared in a most sinisterly familiar way._

"_Sukebe Shinken has no equal."_

_The Plaplaman cometh..._

_  
Four smiled, even as beside her darkness like none other coalesces into material form. "It begins, does it not?"_

"_Indeed," her companion agreed. "Now, things become interesting."_

"_Indeed."_

_  
Not so far away, a young man smiles as the same breeze that teased Mai earlier greets him. "Yokatta. This isn't so bad, I guess."_

_So saying, he takes the first step Fate has set for him, towards the girl who would share life and soul with him..._

_  
  
_**Guilty Gear**

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**Overseen By:** Sheo Darren and Yuuki Darren

**Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities. The featured song for this chapter is _Ashita he no Brillian Road_ from _Uchuu no Stellvia._ Battle music is _Namida no Hurricane _from _Get Backers._ Quotes from _Magic the Gathering Artifacts Cycle III: Time Streams._

_  
_**Dedication: **For **Lone Wolf NEO**, the lone wolf who keeps on going despite rewrites and edits. This is for you and Hikki, Kiba-_san_.

**Kanon Arc**

**Chapter Twelve**

**Part Two of Seven Parts**

**  
Kokurabuji Hikki**

**  
**He was, strangely enough, a contradiction that almost could be said to be falsehood. Not quite so, not exactly, a technicality that skirted decisiveness, yet still the essence of doubt remained. He was a pretense, one that wasn't seen as such by those around him due to ignorance, misconstrued intents of good that somehow in the end were more painful than outright deception.

Deception: Yes, that was a good word to describe him. It was accurate and precise and got to the gist of things, no excess baggage to get in the way. He was deceiver and deceived; he gave with one hand and took back with the other, all the while smiling his faked smile that was only a curtain to hide his confusion and lack of anchorage in life, all the while posing a hypocrisy he does not realize himself to be, so utterly ignorant he is.

It is so painful... and yet so true.

In other words, he is a lie.

His smile was false, there to hide insecurities about his ancestry, there to reassure himself in the nature of all lies, to sooth his conscience and convince him that he was right in doing so and he would be okay. In a way he was as mad as Radiant, the archangel leader of collapsing Serra's Realm, lost in the delusions of the Phyrexians and her own misgivings. He was as mad as Urza Planeswalker of old, the defiler of Argoth, scourge of Terisiare, bane of Serra's Realm, destroyer of Tolaria, whose name had become synonymous with mad and savage war. He was mad because he chose to believe himself, a half-truth, and thus was lost in the darkness.

His power was great. Few could equal him in his command of the dark gales. Yet all that power was to naught. He could not control its fullest expression, rightly afraid of the backlash of a heritage borne in blood and tears and yet unwilling to try changing what has been declared canon, lacked courage to try and throw everything he knew to the winds in what he knew as the right. He could not –would not– change.

His combat skills were meant to protect himself and the people he cared for. Yet he had failed in battle with a madman, and so that insane dictator had taken his power to use against his creator, the end tragic. He had failed to save his sister from destroying herself and everyone he cared for in this world. Moreover, he had failed to protect the girl he loved above all others from a Death of immutable Fate. The ultimate failure of a warrior was to fail protecting the one he had sworn to shield. It is the death of martial artists. It is the death of him.

Thus, just as a certain wandering Swordsman had been before taking on a new mantle as the Wanderer, this boy was dead to the world.

He was Chrono Falken, scion of the mighty warrior clan whose weapon was the dark gales, the bearer of time-shifting power as the legendary Chrono Trigger.

He was _Nagalintar, _the Dragon of Time, Guardian of the last Falken.

He was–

And yet he was none of those.

He was nothing of the preceding.

In the words of Sheo Darren a year or so ago, _"He was nothing._

"_He was nothing without her."_

_  
_"Yuu..."

Before the cherry tree that stood so fatefully in the world was the manifestation of chaotic pornographic martial arts-fighting evil, warrior half of the infamous Shady Guy, the Master of the Fist of the Porn Star: Plaplaman. The EFZ girls all crawled towards him, pleading for forgiveness at their latest failure. A casual gesture of the hand shut them up, and they were reduced to groveling in homage and whimpering as if they were in H-game scenes (which they did come from, but the idea shall not be discussed at length).

Plaplaman glared at Mai and Sayuri. "So, Sayuri," a harsh shrill voice that suspiciously sounded like a mix of the lead singer of _The Darkness_, _Queen_'s Frederick Mercury (God and Sol forbid that) and Aaron Carter (may a just and merciful God especially forbid that!) growled as best as it could, "You have joined your traitorous friend now, have you? Well, damn you!"

Despite herself, Mai raised an eyebrow. That didn't sound like the Box of Doom she remembered. Plaplaman noticed this and grumbled angrily in its pipsqueak voice. "Sho kneed me in the balls," he snapped.

Mai and Sayuri winced, the latter adding a blush. Even Plaplaman himself shuddered at the memory. Followers of Invader-Zam4's _The Misadventures of Ky Kiske_ would remember that during the Author Insert Karaoke Night **_Omake_**, Sho Tsuzuku had done that gutter fighter tactic to the Shady Guy –Plaplaman's alternate identity– in order to raise the latter's voice to The Darkness's lead singer's level for _I Believe In A Thing Called Love._ For love of the song– and hatred of the Captain's Log– people **_can_** and **_will_** do anything, especially people the likes of Sho...

(Hey... Why is the word **_Omake_** here?)

Unseen, Four grinned deviously.

"But enough of that!" The Plaplaman unseen eyes glinted from the viewing slit in his mask: The fish head's 'mouth'.

Letting go of Sayuri, Mai shifted into her _battoujitsu _stance and put herself between her friend and the menace of their enemy. "Stay behind me," she quietly intoned. Though frightened, Sayuri obediently did so, trusting in the capability and faithfulness of the dark-haired Sword Girl who had sworn to protect her.

Plaplaman settled into a kung fu pose that was practically lifted from _Fist of the North Star. _"Come on," rasped the villain in challenge.

Mai attacked.

**  
(Battle Music:** _Namida no Hurricane _from_ Get Backers)_

_  
_A blur of red, she struck out with Ghost Hunter so unbelievably fast that all there was to see was a line of light, the slashing arc taken by the blade as it tore out of its sheath with a vengeance, driven by strength that of a warrior whose heart and soul has been renewed by forgiveness of her sins– and now fought to protect the girl who renewed her sense of living.

Plaplaman blocked the blade.

With the edge of his hand, like Neo from _The Matrix: Reloaded_.

Mai expected that, Plaplaman being an Author, member of the Hexagon and once the Box of Doom, but still she knew deep in her heart that she would never stop being lost in disbelief at the sight of a sword being stopped by a mere hand.

She didn't let that disbelief stop her speechless. A quick tug of her hand pulled Ghost Hunter back, but instead of sheathing her weapon after the strike in traditional _battoujitsu_ style Mai went straight out. Gripping her sword with both hands to give it more hitting power, she began launching two-handed strokes in rapid succession.

The Plaplaman blocked each and every attack with that same hand. The wind whistled as the spirit blade cut through it, but Mai never even scratched that parrying knife-edge.

Stymied in her offensive, the Sword Girl leapt back to gather her breath and wits. Mai knew she was outmatched and bound to lose, that despite her skills and training she'd never be able to hold out for long against an enemy of such power as this. All she could do was to buy enough time for help to arrive. Surely the SDDF was monitoring the situation. They'd interrupted the battle between Sol Badguy and Person With Many Aliases in an earlier chapter, after all. And Elde had prescience of Fate on his side and the Wings of Eternity to bring him here on a thought's notice and within a heartbeat. And surely her mentor Reia Namie was nearby and aware of what was happening? She was the first and original Wanderer, after all; she _had_ to know.

But she could not depend on the thought that the cavalry was just thundering around the corner, that Yuuki and Elde and Reia and everyone was coming, that they would be rescued and the war won whatever the outcome of this particular unimportant skirmish. Because however long enough Mai held out, the moment she lost this battle and fell, Sayuri would suffer at the perverted hands of the Shady Guy.

And Mai couldn't let that happen. She would not let Sayuri get hurt in any way, especially the kind of pornographic horror that the Plaplaman could devise.

She would rather die first.

But before she died, she'd give it her best fight.

And that meant using her ultimate attack.

Plaplaman was not surprised when Mai went into _battoujitsu _pose, Ghost Hunter sheathed once more and awaiting command. He was neither surprised when the Sword Girl began to glow and small flickering balls of light came into life around her, as she gathered in all her remaining _ki_ and even some from her surroundings. The blade of spirits itself drew in all of her increasing despair, fueling its own power with her fatalism, her acceptance of her self-sacrifice in order that the person she cared for would live.

"Sayuri." Her green eyes were placidly calm. "I want you to run away."

The girl went pale. "What?"

"Before I launch my attack, I want you to run away from here as quickly as you can. Don't stop running until you reach the SDDF's local guard post or see an Author or other important person who can protect you."

"_Nande? Yamete, _Mai_!"_ What? No, Mai, don't do it! "I won't leave you, I won't abandon you!"

Mai gave her childhood friend one last pleading look, one last faded smile. "Just go."

In tears, as heartbroken as she herself had been just a while ago, Sayuri reluctantly nodded. She would flee into safety, even as her friend would perish for her.

Assured now, Mai closed her eyes and focused all of herself into her final blow. She would put everything she had into it. She would make it count.

There was no other choice. If she continued using her energy sparingly, Plaplaman would certainly overwhelm her with his vastly greater reserves of _ki_. That did not mean that using all of her _ki_ in one single strike would work where spreading them all out in many attacks wouldn't. It merely meant there was more chance of distracting the enemy, enough so Sayuri could have a head start in her escape. One powerful attack called for an equally powerful or greater counter, and such moves took their time to prepare. Time was precious, all the more so because once lost, it could not be regained.

What a poignant thought. Things that have been lost can never be regained. In this case it was time. Times of happiness and sorrow, times of joy and sadness, it was the bittersweet ambrosia of man had to be content with. There was so little of it to be had, and yet so much to be experienced in such a short while and so many people.

_Yuuichi-kun... Elde-kun... Kirika-san... Kino... Reia-sensei..._

_Sayuri._

_And–_

She saw him for just an instant, a flash of his handsome face and ready smile, and then he was gone. It was the touch of Fate, prescience that at its fullest Elde called 'Seed Mode': The power of the human individual to overcome all physical, mental and psychological limits, surpassing his self-imposed confinement to become the perfect Coordinated being. Mai had no idea she could invoke such a moment– and realized that she had to believe, even for just a ephemeral moment, that she could find the way, a meteor lost in the night, a precious rose in the night.

_But everyone can,_ said a voice she had never heard before. _Everyone can– if they believe in it and put themselves to it. Certainly you can. You're special, Mai. You always were. Sure you can– if you believe and try._

"_Who are you?"_ she asked that semi-invisible person. _"Who are you?"_

The woman's face would just not be seen, but she was there, present, approaching, knowing.

_I am._

And then she was back in the world once more, alone in this battle, Plaplaman before her a malevolence waiting to erupt.

_But who was that woman? Who is she?_

Within its scabbard home, Ghost Hunter hummed softly.

It was time for the attack that had defeated That Girl a long time ago– an attack she hoped would win the battle once more, this time against Plaplaman.

Pupils of deep emerald shone as the eyes that bore them opened in full, her soul aflame– and yet the question remained to puzzle her:

_Who is she?_

**_  
"AMAKAKE RYU NO HIREMEKI!"_**

Again there was black, and then white, before all was as it was beneath the light of this world. Mai was past Plaplaman. Again Ghost Hunter slid back into its sheath with a resolute hiss of finely forged spirit steel upon leather, the seeds of sadness that was her soul's returning to dormancy.

It was her mightiest blow, her last resort, Sayuri's only chance, Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu's finest. All of Mai's hopes rested on her Instant Kill. It had redeemed the misguided Yuuki Darren a fan fiction ago; could it grant her victory against the diabolical Plaplaman?

Only one way to find out: She murmured the final word that ended her attack.

"End."

There was the sound of something hitting the ground, a soft plopping noise.

She heard Sayuri and the EFZ girls gasp –the former in amazement, the latter in disbelief– and knew she had done the impossible. She had beaten an Author and saved her friend. Victory was hers.

Then she heard them gasp again, which suddenly turned into shrieks and groans.

The inexplicable chill she felt made her spin around to confront this new terror.

Indeed it was horror. Certainly Sayuri saw this as the stuff of nightmares. Even the loyal EFZ girls could not suppress their dismay and loathing; even stoically imperturbable Mai herself, _Kanon_'s equivalent of Ayanami Rei, was repulsed by the sheer sight of what now rested upon Plaplaman's head in place of the split fish head mask that lay useless on the ground.

It was a cockroach mask.

A disgustingly realistic mask that was complete with antennae that twitched in sickeningly inquisitiveness, shiny black beadlike eyes and mandible pincers that nauseatingly clacked together in an all-too-realistic manner.

"_Shimatta"_

Mai was numbed. That was why she failed to react when Plaplaman raised his hands and declared:

"_Sukebe Shinken_ has no equal."

Faster than thought, shrill as Bruce Lee in one of the famous fighter's beat-you-down-to-a-pulp routines, the cockroach-headed martial artist landed seven successive wallops. With pinpoint accuracy he directed each of his strikes at seven particular nerve endings on Mai's torso. The seventh, final and most powerful blow sent the hapless Sword Girl flying into the air, Ghost Hunter and sheath slipping away from nerveless fingers, even as Plaplaman arrogantly turned around and brought his right fist into his left palm in a parody of Shaolin monk genuflection and _Gear Fighter Dendou_ post-finisher pose and swore "You're already _ecchi_."

Sayuri rushed past the Plaplaman and to the side of her friend. As she fell to her knees and cradled the stricken girl, tears did the same, fleeing her cheeks as they dropped into eternity and end.

"Mai!"

_I've failed._

_Some Sword Girl I am. I don't have the power to protect myself. I don't have the power to protect the people I care for._

_Gomennasai, Sayuri. I'm leaving you alone again. And this time, there's nothing I can do about it._

_I'm sorry._

_Goodbye, for this is the end..._

_  
**No, Mai. Don't give up on the world.**_

_**Don't give up on yourself.**_

_**Don't give up on her.**_

_**Don't give up on us.**_

_**Don't give up on me.**_

_**Don't give up on him.**_

**  
**So far away, Elde Talonn forgets the shadowy man called the Black Feather and the ended battle with the Robo-Ky Mk II units and the new battle against Ky Kiske, instead seeing the impishly childlike girl who had called forth the sword of A Destiny Set Astray and bestowed upon him the Wings of Eternity that was his soul and helped make him who he was: The Wanderer.

So far away, Reia Namie ignores the smoking heaps and piles of slag of what had once been PWAB Robo-Sols that had intercepted her on the way to a pilgrimage to her past, her attention riveted upon the tempestuous dark-skinned beauty who chose her to be the original immortal traveling messenger, bearer of the Blade Lost In Darkness: The Nameless Wander Girl.

So far away, in Heaven, the marvelous divine tree of the world –Yggdrasil, the "Ultimate Force Machine"– shone bright all of a sudden, to the quiet interest of the third and final of the three patron goddesses who oversaw Her that we call Fate, she having awaited for so long a time, seemingly forgotten, lacking a champion of her own for the Traveling Sword of Angels– until now.

So far away in Earth, a girl who was no girl smiles, as beside her darkness in all and name awaits her request and his part to play.

And just within a heartbeat's distance, he is there.

_  
Sora wo aogi_

_Hoshi yo michite_

_Tobitatsu no Asu e no brilliant road_

_Kokoro no aosa_

_Kono te ni daite go far away._

Amazingly, Mai was back on her feet.

It was a struggle not to fall. Her whole body was battered by the _Sukebe Shinken_, that single seven-blow Fist of the Porn Star strike far more devastating than the few occasions Elde had been forced to go against her in the times they were still opponents and not yet friends, the Swordsman always holding back in chivalrous concern but never with any diminution of respect for her. She required every bit of strength that remained within a frail frame that now was almost as weak at it seemed, even as she desperately drew upon any other within reach, herself lacking but in that helplessness receiving what she might never have gotten before.

Unsheathed, its faded steel blade firmly buried into the ground, Ghost Hunter propped its mistress up, reduced by necessity to a glorified crutch but serving uncomplainingly as it was required. Sayuri was there in support –eternal if need be–, arms and shoulder reinforcing her friend, whispering words of encouragement and sighs of concern, her cleansing tears watering the soil with promise.

But Mai was bolstered by more than just these aids offered and taken. She was going on by force of unbreakable will and indomitable spirit, by herself _despite_ of herself. From her person within came strength to hold her person without.

Her eyes wide open, the vibrancy of deep bottle green pupils lost in the semi-conscious hyperawareness that was the fey Seed Mode was undeniable.

"_Omae..."_

_You..._

The Plaplaman turned to look at whom the Sword Girl's eyes rested upon.

"Finally." The man who was no man nodded slightly. "The lead actors have finally met."

Four stood up, her smile broad and knowing. "And now the play can begin in earnest."

_  
Sora wo aogi_

_Hoshi yo michite_

_Tobitatsu no Asu e no brilliant road_

_Kokoro no aosa_

_Kono te ni daite_

_Anata to nara_

_Yowai jibun wo sarakedashite hashiridaseru no_

_Mirai yo dou ka_

_Mugen ni tsuzuke go far away._

A new wind blew in their direction, a different wind than that which Fate had been espousing until just now, a fresh one unsullied by madness of the fish mask, full of young courage that never fell short of what was needed but bountifully overflowed every time it was called upon. With it came its warrior bearer, imperial red silks in the manner of dress by a certain late Chinese cook wrapped around him, the wind whistling with his every step, the boy with the eternal smile and the power of Time's tide.

"_Oi, ojii-san,_ lay off the cute helpless girls, will you?" To Mai and Sayuri: "_Daijoubu desuka, kawaii no joushikusei-san?"_ Are you okay, pretty school girls? "No need to fear; I'm here to help you."

Kokurabuji Hikki had arrived.

**_  
To Be Continued..._**

Next on _The World Within And Without_:

On Earth, Mai wakes up to a different world, one revolving around the boy named Kokurabuji Hikki. In the dark, Four still lurks unseen, plotting with a smile, scheming with a light heart, the mysterious unnamed man her ally in this battle. The story of the Nameless Wander Girl is slowly being unveiled in the light of present events with the newest Wanderer that begin to parallel her past tragedies...

Next Chapter: Part 3 – **_Reia Namie_**


	14. Kanon Arc Part 3: Reia

_"He was nothing without her."_

_  
"Yuu…"_

_  
I've failed._

_I'm sorry._

_Goodbye, for this is the end…_

_  
**No, Mai. Don't give up on the world.**_

**_Don't give up on yourself._**

**_Don't give up on her._**

**_Don't give up on us._**

**_Don't give up on me._**

**_Don't give up on him._**

**_  
_**_And just within a heartbeat's distance, he is there._

_  
"Finally." The man who was no man nodded slightly. "The lead actors have finally met."_

_Four stood up, her smile broad and knowing. "And now the play can begin in earnest."_

_  
"Oi, ojii-san, lay off the cute helpless girls, will you?" To Mai and Sayuri: "Daijoubu desuka, kawaii no joushikusei-san?" Are you okay, pretty school girls? "No need to fear; I'm here to help you."_

_Kokurabuji__ Hikki had arrived._

_  
  
_**Guilty Gear**

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**Overseen By:** Sheo Darren and Yuuki Darren

**Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities. __

_  
_**Dedication: **For **Lone Wolf NEO**, the lone wolf who keeps on going despite rewrites and edits. This is for you and Hikki, Kiba-_san_.

**Kanon**** Arc**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Part Three of Seven Parts**

**  
  
Reia Namie**

**_  
_**_A thousand years ago and so far away…_

_It is night. A kingdom's blacked ruins had finally stopped burning. Its people lay dead in the sand, locked in their last throes of death with the monsters that had slain them and which they, in turn, had slain. The last of the bloodstains had dried from the heat of flames just now failing. Shards of shivered weapons shone dully in the same moonlight that had overseen the beginning of this end. Swords and spears and shields of the fallen stood watch over their wielders' still forms, sentinels to this sorry fate until the tides of time inundate the world in history's passing, relegating them to the cobwebbed corners of forgotten legend._

_In the midst of all this, a girl cradled the man she loved._

_"Farewell, my sweet twilight faerie. All good things must end. So it is with us. Don't cry. Don't let fall the tears I taught you to know; don't let me be the one to make you shed those tears."_

_But she cried nevertheless. She who never thought to cry again, who believed herself beyond it, who considered herself to no longer be human, she who was once merely a wandering girl without name or home or knowledge of the word 'love'– until she came here and found him, was given a name and a home and a person to be loved, and knew herself to be happy and in love for the first time in millennia._

_And then, in the passing of a mere day and its accompanying night, she lost it all: Her home, her adopted people, her fair future of peace and security, all of them vanishing in a moment's fire and ash, the empty meaningless nothing of oblivion._

_Just like before._

_But now, unlike before, she was also losing the one most important thing she has ever come upon to call her own._

_She was losing the first, last and only man she had ever loved._

_"Hush, darling. Cry not for me. You are beyond me, I fear; beyond all of us mortals. Even devils may cry, but not you. You always have **been**, despite our own fondest illusions and wildest hopes for us. **You** **are**, **always**, **now and forever**._

_"Live for me. Cry no more for me. Let no more tears fall from your beautiful eyes. All will pass; all will fail. All shall, except you. Endure for me, live for me, and I live in you._

_"And as you will no longer let tears fall from your eyes," he whispered, "Let no tears be shorn by those you pass. Promise me that. Be strong as steel in your purpose. Protect them. Guide them. Keep away those who would make them cry. Keep away that which would bring them unto tears._

_"For, j**ust as you shall cry no longer, no others shall cry like you because of people like me, they will cry no longer because of you**._

_"Promise me. Promise me."_

_"I promise," she swore, squeezing his hand for all it was worth, fulfilling it as she spoke. Tears stopped falling; a heart was hardened against knowledge of suffering, even as it kept this and other tender moments alive within its stony façade. "I promise."_

_He smiled, breathed his last, and went still._

_She was alone again, orphaned once more. All she has now from this life now gone. The last of it that remains her own is her name._

_Wander Girl she may once more be, but nameless no longer. For he, the man she still loved and who still loved her, has given her a name, and it is hers forever._

_Her name is **Reia**** Namie**._

_She was, is once more, and is always, the **Wanderer**._

_  
_When Mai regained consciousness, it was to find herself in a similar situation to Akari Odine in the previous arc: Invalided in a comfortable bed, but minus the dextrose. Sayuri was half-sprawled on her right, soundly asleep. Seated to the right in a separate chair, quite awake and being her noncommittally emotionless self, was Reia Namie.

The two women –one barely more than a child, the other forever young– stared at each other, so much alike in that silent exchange that they could have been twins. Mai felt a bit intimidated by Reia's intentness, as if the older woman saw deep into her most private thoughts and emotions, like a laser cutting through steel.

That wasn't the only thing. Mai didn't feel right. There was the faintest hint of an eldritch sensation within her that didn't belong. She didn't know what it was, didn't know what was wrong and didn't think there was any problem to begin with. She ached a bit from the bruises she took, but that was all. She felt energetic, too, which was the last thing one could feel after being on the receiving end of _Sukebe__ Shinken_. The ultimate attacks of The Fist of the North Star literally blew up its targets into gory clouds of blood and gore, or –if the hero was depressed enough– wholly disintegrated with a blast of destructive _ki_. Surely, Plaplaman's copycat Fist of the Porn Star could do the same.

Yet nothing had happened to her.

All the same, she was thankful that boy came in when he did.

_That boy…_

Sayuri took that moment to wake up. Grogginess quickly disappeared upon discovering Mai was awake at last, replaced by happiness embodied in that hug she threw on her best friend.

"Mai! You're awake! I'm so glad you're awake now, because you took some really bad injuries in that fight–"

"What happened?" Green eyes never left those opposite pupils of blood red ruby that was her mentor's, even as Mai somewhat reluctantly returned Sayuri's hug. "I don't remember much of it."

"Eh? Oh, that boy came. Hikki, I think." Sayuri put up a shop of pretending to remember something. "Yup, Kokurabuji Hikki."

Hikki. She knew about him. Elde had mentioned him several times before. Hikki was the Assistant of Lone Wolf NEO, the _Guilty Gear_ Author and Sheo Darren's friend. For some reason, Mai couldn't recall much, but what she did remember about him –and quietly kept to herself, Reia or otherwise– was all good.

"He put himself between us and Master–I mean, Plaplaman. He's Korean, and he's really cute, too," the brown-haired girl was gushing breathlessly. "Anyway, he drove off Ma–Plaplaman without a fight. Then you fainted."

Somehow, Mai was not convinced. Hikki told off the Box of Doom? An Author Assistant drove off an Author with his mere presence? Takane Hibiki had set a precedent versus Person in _The Keeper of the System_, but she had a lot of help for that. How could Hikki alone achieve the same?

For the first time that day, Reia spoke up.

"Elde came."

Within her mind, the image of the smiling Swordsman No More affably greeted her. "Elde-_san_?"

"He was investigating about the Black Feather in Lone Wolf NEO's World when he detected you were in danger. He left Kirika and Kino in order to come to your aid," noted Reia in a dryly disapproving tone. "It was a careless decision, but typical of him."

Mai tensed. She didn't like hearing her friend being belittled, especially about something he did for her behalf _and_ by someone who should know better.

But it was Sayuri who took up the absent Wanderer's defense. "Elde-_san_ said that there was no problem. Hejudged Alex wouldn't hurt Kirika and Kino. Besides, he was only gone for an hour or so."

"One hour is a long time for a Wanderer. Elde's primary responsibility was to his companions and his mission. He cannot look after everyone in the world."

"What about _your_ responsibility to me?" Mai came off a bit harsh on that, as the atmosphere in the room took an acrimonious turn. "Where were you when Plaplaman attacked me? Off on a wild goose chase?"

Sayuri was open-mouthed at her friend's uncharacteristic exclamation. Reia was unperturbed by the outburst, though.

"That is not your concern."

"Really, now?"

"Where I go is my business and mine alone." She did not deign to return the look, instead calmly straightening out the folds in her clothes to show how trivial Reiathought of the whole matter. "Elde, Hikki and I drove off Plaplaman without a fight. As for your complaint, I suffice to say that I am responsible for you, which is why I came back when I did."

Mai was of the mind to make an unkind comment on that, bitter as she was about being callously abandoned by her teacher, much more this half-baked excuse for any responsibility or interest in her well-being. Somehow she forgot that Reia had arrived at about the same time as Elde (and only a few moments after Hikki). People who think they've been treated unfairly oftentimes do the same, just to feel they are even stephen.__

"Elde left a message, by the way," added Reia as an afterthought.

Still touchy, Mai asked: "What is it?"

The blue-haired woman quoted, standing up to leave but being distantly polite, "That you did quite well regarding your situation, that he wishes you the best and prays you get well quickly, and to understand that I am an anti-social person who supposedly reminds him a lot of you in more ways than one.

"Also: 'Put up with Reia-_chan_,'–" Was that condescending gloss over the suffix? "–She's getting on her years," finished Reia with the most even look in history.

That broke the sullen spell. Both girls stared at their senior. Was Reia being rather talkative? Was the Wander Girl making a joke on herself?

"Reia-_sensei_?"__

She stopped at the door and tilted her head just a bit, enough to glance at Mai.

The girl tried on a smile, and felt it fit.

"I'm sorry for being too harsh."

Her imperceptible nod was enough. "Get well quickly."

"Thank you."

The door closed.

Mai had to smile.

_  
_Earlier rebuffed by the two Wanderers and that meddling Author Assistant, theangry Plaplaman was about to cross the highway back to Invader Zam-4's Dimension when the man appeared.

"Well, well," the man said in a condescendingly familiar way, "If it isn't my good old friend, Plave. Still hurting where it counts, Shady Guy?"

"You!" The masked fighter's eyes glowered like tiny bits of red-hot coal, even as SFX bleeped out his foe's name to preserve the latter's identity a la Kill Bill. "(Bleep!), you (bleep!)-ing bastard!"

"Ah, yes, thank you for the compliment."

"You kneed me in the groin!"

"And you made me do all your journals." The newcomer's eyes glinted menacingly. "You and your stupid California pinewood…"

Burning with rage, Plaplaman got into his _Sukebe__ Shinken _pose. "Say what you will," he declared, "But _Sukebe__ Shinken _hath no equal!"

"Let us see." The man stood there arrogantly and beckoned with his middle finger. "Why did the Plaplaman cross the road?"

"To kill you, (Bleep!), you (Bleep)-ing (bleep!)" So saying, Plaplaman lunged across the highway, towards the man.

That was when the eighteen-wheeler big rig came out of nowhere.

The man calmly watched the speeding truck disappear down the highway. He was waving farewell with usual aplomb. The Plaplaman was wrapped around the road monster's chrome-plated bumper –the kind that trains of old used to clear away the odd herd of buffalo blocking the rails– and screaming obscenities and a name most hated, words drowned out by the roaring motor.

"How convenient," the man contentedly commented.

_  
_Kokurabuji Hikki –Assistant to Lone Wolf NEO who cosplayed as Kuradoberi Jam, dark gale warrior Chrono Falken, bearer of the power of Nagalintar the Dragon of Time, and favorite glomping toy of his sister Mriya– sank back into the warmth of the bath tub's waters and pondered his day's accomplishments.

Unfortunately, it all amounted to one thing: Nothing.

Zero. Zilch. Null set. No data. A great big nothing.

It was exactly what he had expected for the first day.

It was also **_not_** what he had hoped for.

The being known as Four was both an enigma and not. Sure, there was a physical description. Megumi Sadako (now Mrs. Zappa), Person With Many Aliases and Makijina Mina (who wasn't Mrs. Person WMA, not yet) had been helpful on providing a description: Fourteen, Asian-looking but with pale complexion, black hair and blacker eyes, black sundress and metal bracelets or trinkets on right wrist and left ankle. The Wanted signs scattered all across the Continuum had excellent sketches to go along with them; bounty hunters and vigilantes and official police forces knew now who to look for. Someone had even offered 40 billion UN double dollars as reward money, beating the record Vash Stampede established. And she hadn't begun to destroy things yet.

Which was really odd, Hikki had come to think of it. Bringing Megumi back to life was just for warm-ups? It wasn't even a crime! Sure, messing up a wedding could be filed under 'disturbing the peace'. But it was a typical Sheo Darren wedding, after all. Everyone knew unbelievable chaos prevailed in those endeavors, especially _The Wedding Night 2_. _The World Within And Without _wasn't as bad, but it did its best to live up to expectations. Ask Zappa and Megumi, or Millia and Venom. And there was nothing to be seen of Four in the last pair's wedding.

But what had gotten attention was that Four had taken on an Author, one on one.

And she'd won.

And then, inexplicably, she just left.

That was why Hikki was here: To find out why she did so.

_  
_"_I've got a mission for you, Hikki."_

_"What is it, Lone Wolf-san?"_

_This had been several weeks ago, before the current chapter of Melty Blood RELOADED and just after Zappa's wedding. Hikki hadn't wanted to leave his sister all alone in Kiev, despite her sometimes embarrassing advances of affection towards him. But Lone Wolf had risked his own life to save Mriya's soul. Hikki owed him a lot and did all he could to help._

_"There's this girl named Four who's causing trouble in The World Within And Without."_

_"Wasn't she the same one who took on Person WMA and won?"_

_"Yes. I want you to gather every data about Four. If possible, stop her from causing any more trouble in TWWAW."_

_"Sure, but why me?__ Surely, there are others–"_

_"There aren't. Elde is already here and in the thick of investigating the Black Feather and the PWAB crises. Yuuki has her own troubles to deal with; PWAB is also active in TWWAW. And Sheo's been acting really weird ever since he came back. He doesn't call me much and rarely appears, and never for long. There's something wrong with him," distantly mused Lone Wolf, "Almost as if he's not his usual self. As for me, I've got a lot of things on my hand, Hibiki-chan being first and foremost of them," slyly added the Author._

_They all laughed at that, even as the blushing Takane girl bopped her teasing boyfriend on the head with her fan._

_"Iie, stop teasing me, Lone Wolf-san!"___

_"Kidding, Hibiki-chan! Anyway, Hikki, I only have you to rely upon. I want to help Yuuki and Sheo as much as I can. I know you can do it. Will you?"_

_"Of course I'll do it for you, Lone Wolf-san. I'll be off as soon as I can tell Mriya-nee-san and pack my things."_

_"Arigatou, Hikki."_

_  
_Mriya had protested his decision. She had even unleashed her most devious charms yet on the hapless youth, some attempts being quite devious and not exactly fit for publication (no sex, though; Mriya didn't go for that, she was a nice young woman). But Hikki had finally convinced her that this mission was very important. So off Mriya went to bother Lone Wolf and company in Kiev, while her cute little brother Chrono started his investigation.

_Some investigation this is_,he glumly thought. The only useful clue Hikki learned was that Four used The Will And The Word. That narrowed things down a lot. The only people who used that power were Sheo Darren and his 'daughter' Yuuki. But That Girl had not been of much help. She told him she didn't know much about The Will And The Word –which was odd, considering it was _her_ power– and knew nothing about Four.

As for Sheo? He never appeared.

What was disturbing, though, was when Loki confided his own suspicions to Hikki.

_  
"I'm not sure how to say this, but I think Yuuki is hiding something."_

_"What?" Hikki was surprised. "Why would she do that?"_

_"I don't know," admitted the worried Loki. "When I ask her about Four, she's willing to talk but hold backs on a lot of things. She's been acting kind of strange lately, too, around the same time Four first appeared. I think they're connected. Yuuki is hiding what she knows about that girl– as if she wants to protect Four."_

_"Don't tell me that Yuuki is actually Four in disguise?" Hikki demanded incredulously._

_Loki shook his head. "Impossible. I'm always with her, remember? And Yuuki is really worried about Four. I believe that Yuuki and Four are separate girls, but they are somehow linked to each other– and," concluded Loki in a troubled tone that Lone Wolf NEO had also voiced earlier, "And to Sheo Darren."_

_  
_So, here he was, lolling inside a comfy bath in the same manner that Sion Eltnam Atlasia had done so earlier, wondering what his next step was, when he heard the doorbell chime.

"Now who could this be?" Hikki asked himself aloud as he got up from the tub, wrapped a towel around his waist and went over to open the door.

_  
_Fan girls are going crazy about Hikki in the bath and in just a towel. Fan boys are crying foul and bias, that no one is obliterating the fan girls but everyone seems to love killing fan boys, like during their attempt on Sion that time. Fan girls tell fan boys to drop dead. Fan boys return derision. Sol Badguy arrives and obliges everyone by blowing them all up with a nuclear Tyrant Rave: Version Gamma. Kagura glomps Sol. Sol grumbles and walks off, Kagura around his neck.

Hoshino Ruri glances at the scene and comments fittingly: "_Minna__ baka"_

End of _Nadesico-_ish 'insane side commentary'.

_  
"Konnichiwa, Kokurabuji-san!_ I'm Sayuri Kurata, _yoroshiku_! Remember me? You saved me and my friend yesterday, and we're really grateful for your help! And so I was kind of hoping you'd drop over at our room to have tea with us as a measure of our thanks–"

He didn't hear the rest of her words. He could only look at her in wonder and some fear. He could not only see her, but also the person she embodied, the image superimposed upon this waif who smiled unknowingly, just like–

_Yuu__…_

**_  
_**In the place that is no more, amidst the rolling dunes that once held a beautiful city and its peace-loving people, an eternal woman sets down a bouquet of violets upon the spot where its beloved king –and her love– had lain in rest at the end.

Violets symbolized faithfulness.

In the scorching heat of day and the biting cold of night, harsh sandstorms and instant flash floods, they would wither and waste away.

But in her mind, they would last forever.

After all, she was faithful forever.

She lives forever.

And in her, he lives.

Her task finished, her year's pilgrimage fulfilled, Reia Namie stood up and walked away into the horizon.

**_  
To Be Continued…_**

_  
_Next on _The World Within And Without_:

Driven by a feeling she cannot understand or control, competing with a ghost for command of a boy's heart, Mai finds herself drawn closer and closer to Hikki, like a moth to a flame– and the rejection might just kill her. The Child of Chrono himself is in personal turmoil, his past dictating the present with an iron hand. As everything comes to a whirling conflagration, Four finally makes a stand– she and her own little piece of darkness.

Next Chapter: Part 4 – **_Yuu_**__


	15. Kanon Arc Part 4: Yuu

_Wander Girl she may once more be, but nameless no longer. For he, the man she still loved and who still loved her, has given her a name, and it is hers forever._

_Her name is **Reia**** Namie**._

_She was, is once more, and is always, the **Wanderer**._

_  
"I think they're connected. Yuuki is hiding what she knows about that girl– as if she wants to protect Four… they are somehow linked to each other– and," concluded Loki in a troubled tone that Lone Wolf NEO had also voiced earlier, "And to Sheo Darren."_

_  
He didn't hear the rest of her words. He could only look at her in wonder and some fear. He could not only see her, but also the person she embodied, the image superimposed upon this waif who smiled unknowingly, just like–_

**_Yuu_****_…_**

_  
  
_**Guilty Gear**

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**Overseen By:** Sheo Darren and Yuuki Darren

**Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

Quotations from _Chapter 31: Sorrow _of Lone Wolf NEO's fan fiction _Revolution: It's Not What It Seems,_ paraphrased and edited with author's permission. Reia's image them and the featured song for this chapter is _Through The Years And Far Away _from _Hoshi no Koe (Voices of a Distant Star)._

_  
_**Dedication: **For **Lone Wolf NEO**, the lone wolf who keeps on going despite rewrites and edits. This is for you and Hikki, Kiba-_san_.

**Kanon**** Arc**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Part Four of Seven Parts**

**  
  
Yuu**

**_  
A thousand years and so far away…_**

_"Stupid Hikki."___

_"Y-y…"_

_The girl turned around and stared at him, her eyes showing no regret, only an utter inescapable sadness._

_"Y-YUU!?"___

_She smiled, even as the whiteout faded and everything returned to normal. Blood sprang from her wounds like light from a lamp, a crimson fountain of liquid life. She wavered, firmed for a moment, and then toppled. He snatched her up in her arms before her body could hit the ground._

_"Yuu!?__ What the hell are you doing!?"_

_"Hikki…" Her coughing was pained; blood was already choking her throat and lungs. "I'm sorry for doing this … Gommenasai…"_

_"Why are you doing this!?__ Why?"_

_Somehow she managed to cup his cheek with a bleeding palm. Somehow, she smiled as she did so._

_"Sometimes… people will do crazy things just for the sake of their beloved one… right? I-I guess I'm among those people…"_

_"But not like this! Please, Yuu, don't die! Don't leave me alone! Damn it, I've already lost Zofeah, and…"_

_"I'm sorry, Hikki…" She gasped and coughed for want of air; blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, but she bravely went on. "Please, forgive me…"_

_"Don't apologize at me, damn it! You… you're an idiot! You're an idiot for doing this!"_

_She looked away. "Why?" Tears slipped free of her eyes all of a sudden. "Why did you call me 'stupid'?" _

_He startled himself and her by shouting, "Because… because I love you, damn it!" Was he just confessing his feelings for her now? There could be no other explanation for what he said, why he had said so. "Yuu… I…"_

_"Stupid. You're so stupid for risking yourself and your life like this… and you're so stupid for loving me…" Her supple cheeks were moist from tears. "You're just plain stupid… that's why I'm in love with you…"_

_"Don't say it again, please!" He hugged her tightly, cried as he did so. "It's my fault for being an idiot… you can punish me if you want to… God, is this the price I have to pay for my life…?"_

_"Hikki, my body hurts…" She gasped in pain. Even as he released her, blood poured freely from the wells of her wounds, coloring everything scarlet. Her voice went weak and faint. "I can't take it any longer… it hurts so much…"_

_"Yuu, no!__ You're not going to die! You hear me?"_

_Yet she merely lifted her face up to his, no matter the pain and the suffering it entailed. It would only be for a moment more, she knew, only a little while longer. Endure a little more– and shape the boy she loved immeasurably._

_Her trembling lips pressed against his in a kiss that was their first– and their last. He could do nothing but to return it hungrily, sadly, passionately. The warmth in his mouth was her blood; the warmth upon his face was her breath._

_"Promise me, Hikki… Promise me to live… even without me…"_

_"No, Yuu, I can't…! I just can't…! Don't you realize how important to me you are? I need you badly… I can't afford to live without you…"_

_"Hush…" A finger stopped his lips; her heartbreaking smile silenced his protesting heart. "Yes, Hikki, I need you too… I once wished for the two of us to be together forever… it was a lame wish, I know… to love somebody not from among of us…"_

_"Hikki… I feel my time's running out… I can't bear this pain for much longer… promise me, Hikki… promise me…"_

_"I…" He seized her hand and stared into her auburn eyes. "I…" _

_Her dress would never be clean and white again, forever dyed with her very own blood, yet she held on a while longer. "Hikki, please, hurry…"_

_He nodded, the words coming from the depth of his heart and soul. "I-I promise you…" He saw the wide, generous smile carved upon the face that to him would eternally be alive and beautiful. "I promised you, right?"_

_"Thank you, Hikki… farewell…"_

_Her hand ran across his face one last time before it dropped to the ground, never to rise again. She slowly closed her eyes, never to open evermore. He felt and heard her heart slow to a halt, then quit completely. He cradled her body in his arms._

_She was dead._

_And so was he._

_"Yuu… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"_

_  
_Standing alone in the room she shared with Sayuri –currently off on whatever secret project the latter sneakily conceived to pull on her–, the mirror before her the judge of her face and heart and soul, Kawasumi Mai stared and wondered anew about herself.

The reflection that stood before her was her, and yet it was also not her. It showed a girl of eighteen years, spells of spring, summer, autumn and winter coming and going with the fickleness of a Fate that tarries not. She looked a bit older, but not by much. Adventuring and fighting and training did that to you. Seeing the world as it was –and struggling to change it– did that.

Life itself did that.

Certainly she was every bit mature in the sense of things. Although she still had a year to go before she stopped growing, her height would stay at two inches above five feet. Asians were not remarkable for their height. Yet she was not diminutive; only two inches below her friend and mentor Elde Talonn, and he was a respectable (for a Filipino) five foot four and a half. In the same thread of thought, she wasn't endowed with monstrosities _hentai_ games like to flaunt, but neither was she flat of chest. She was remarkably unremarkable, almost a clone of Takane Hibiki– whom designers had most probably based Mai off in the first place, come to think of it. They both had jet black hair (and the same basic hairstyle, too, although the Kanon girl's hair was longer) and bright green eyes; they both were aloof but open to friendships, both outwardly reserved but secretly passionate. They liked the same color, red being dominantly evident in their costumes. They were both swordswomen; they even used the exact same Overdrives!

All the same, Mai was different, uniquely so. And she was constantly changing. Gazing at the mirror, she decided that she didn't like the small line of her usual stoic mouth. After trying on a little smile and finding it more to her liking, she adopted the expression. Likewise, she decided not to tie her hair up into her usual ponytail, just for the sheer difference of it all. The blue ribbon Sayuri had given her as a gift long before –the ribbon she used– was reverently replaced within a small wooden box reserved for that sole purpose.

Her hands came to rest upon her chest Where there should have been ugly scars or purplish bruises –marks of the _Sukebe__ Shinken's_ seven hits–, there was not even the slightest of discoloration. The skin was perfectly smooth and undamaged.

For some sublime reason only she knew, Mai sighed.

She decided she liked the image in the mirror. She decided that she liked the girl she saw. Things were getting better and better.

And that was when Hikki and Sayuri walked in on her at this most inopportune of moments.

"Mai-_chan_, we've got a guest! Hurry and get –"

Everyone stared at each other, most of all Hikki at Mai, and namely because the latter was only in her underwear.

"–dressed?" dumbly finished a very shocked Sayuri, the irony of her words and rhyme lost on her.

Totally unaffected by the attention paid her, not at all modest with her state of undress, Mai just looked at them. At Hikki, especially, who helpfully turned bright apple red in embarrassment when he realized he was still looking at her.

(The fan boys who died in the previous chapter resurrect at hearing of this gander, but Kagura beats them halfway through with Kitty Bag Mega Laser. Insert commentary on rhyme. Fan boys now die. Again. As usual…)

Though Sayuri wasn't a fighter –would never be one, Box of Doom be damned– but her reaction time in this particular case far exceeded any of the other people involved. First, she threw herself on Mai, using her own body to obscure Hikki's view of things and views that shouldn't be viewed. Sayuri then added to her demonstration of speed a display of unbelievable strength, by hauling her unresponsive friend through the bedroom door in the space of three seconds. The door slammed shut.

Aside, Hikki focused his offending eyes on the floor, trying to clear his mind of Mai's almost-naked image even as he heard scuffling noises and one-sided scolding issue from the adjacent room– and as his perfectly normal heterosexually-inclined imagination began working on just what was happening behind the doors and walls.

"Just put it on, will you, Mai! No, not in that way! Heavens, do I have to dress you up myself? Am I a slave, a maid and nanny for you? Oh, just put this on, you–!"

_Oh, dang._

It was too late for damage control. Hikki had suffered a nosebleed.

_Shame on you, Hikki,_ he berated himself, hurriedly rubbing the blood off his shirt's sleeve. Thankfully, his clothes were colored red, so no one would notice the clot and point out his grievous sin.

_Shame on you…_

In a few minutes more, a very abashed Sayuri and an equally neutral Mai emerged from the door.

"Sorry for that scare, Kokurabuji-_kun;_ Mai-_chan_ here can be silly at times!" She then whispered something sharp into Mai's ears. The dark-haired girl didn't seem to hear. "I hope you aren't upset," chirpily concluded Sayuri.

Hikki assured them that he wasn't. Really, considering that he used to being all too often the unwilling object of advances from his dear _onee__-san _Mriya, who was easily sexier and more endowed than Mai and definitely a lot more brazen.

(In Kiev, Ky Kiske is screaming bloody incest, until Sion bops him with her gun to shut him up.)

Not that Mai was plain or without appeal. After all, Hikki _had_ a nosebleed, right? He clearly remembered palely smooth skin, a lean frame that was all sleekly healthy and not grossly so. But the sight most indelibly burned into his mind was that of black silk lingerie so avidly clinging to strong yet definitely feminine curves in such a sinfully delightful way that he found himself wanting to–

Insert image of angry Ky Kiske and Sheo Darren threatening violent mutilation with serrated weapons and unspeakable horrors borne out of a vivid imagination.

**THWACK.**

"Kokurabuji-_kun_, why did you hit yourself on the head?"

"Nothing." He forced himself to grin sheepishly, even as his eyes returned to the girl who had startled him. Not an eyebrow batted or a hint of red blood on her cheeks– as if she had been waiting for him to enter, had intended to reveal all but her soul in that unexpected moment.

Per her custom and preference, Mai was simply dressed in a red kimono. However, she had literally let her hair down. The sheer black mane now cascaded down her shoulders as a waterfall runs upon the face of a pristine mountain. It was like a river of ebon, dammed for ages by a conformal tradition but now allowed free and wild run by current inclination.

_Who was that psychologist guy who said that hair was an expression of sexuality?_ _Something about long hair standing for a mature woman in all her provocative allure? That, and unbound hair symbolized untamed wildness? Is someone trying to send me a message?_

Poor Hikki couldn't help but wonder.

Especially when he noticed Mai's eyes were fixed on him– and only him.

_  
_Tea was a blur.

Are you okay? No Buster Wolf, please. Eh? Sorry, obscure joke. Oh. Okay. But that was a bad beating you took. Are you sure you're okay? There is no need to worry, I am perfectly fine now. Really? I feel better than before. Mai-_chan_, don't stress yourself too much. It's true. And now you're talking like Reia-_sensei…_

It all seemed like a dream to Hikki, a dream with two girls at the center of it: One who was all but Yuu, the other riveted upon the sight of him.

"_Arigatou_ Kokurabuji-_san."_ Mai finished her cup with all the grace and finesse of the finest geisha hostess. "Thank you for visiting us."

"No problem! And please don't be so formal with me, it embarrasses me. Just call me Hikki," he pleaded.

She thought about that for a moment. "Only," she considered, "Only if you would call me Mai."

Hikki smiled sheepishly. "Sure thing… Mai…"

"Thank you, Hikki," returned Mai rather warmly.

Sayuri's eyes went a little wide at that.

_  
_Mai contentedly hummed to herself as she put on her best outdoor _yukata_. A red one, of course; she would not be herself if the color was otherwise.

Again she stood before a mirror, not the last time in quite a while.

It was a lovely day, a fitting end to the wonderful week that had passed by with all the breathtaking briefness of the proverbial season wind. And every moment of that week revolved around Kokurabuji Hikki.

He was there. Every single moment of the day, he was there. Even in times where there was absolutely no way he could be there, he simply was. And whenever he was around, things seemed much brighter. The wind that cooled them seemed fresher; the sunlight was delicious warmer. Ice cream they shared indeed was sweeter, and the _yakisoba_ and _karaage__ bento_ became yummier.

And Sayuri was unhappier by the minute.

The poor brown-haired girl was justified for feeling threatened, what with the speed and strength with which Hikki and Mai had bonded. She was being forgotten in the midst of all this, this–

_  
_Sayuri groped for a word to describe it. A cynically helpful Reia Namie suggested 'love-making', knowing that the old-fashioned meaning for 'courtship' or 'flirting' would be forgotten in the light of modern society's context, especially concerning the readers' inclinations– but going straight on with it despite that.

You know what? She's right. Sayuri _did_ go nuts.

Believe it or not, the Nameless Wander Girl **_can_** make jokes. It's just that her recipients **_don't_** find it funny.

_  
_–and so made every effort to remind her best friend _and_ her new friend that, as much as she liked seeing them happy and enjoying themselves, she, Sayuri, also needed attention. Any attention, even just a trickle, would do. She was a puppy dog begging its owner for notice; her antics included popping out of nowhere and in the middle of a close moment, a headband with bunny ears as adornment, imploring and worrying and threatening in such a cute way that she was more entertainment than annoyance.

But even Sayuri at her worst couldn't ruin the reality.

As a certain American singer might put it, Hikki rocked Mai's world.

Tomorrow was the Nadesico Festival. This was _not_ the Nadesico that most Japanese and tourists would think of. A few years back, Sheo Darren came up with the kooky idea of holding Dimensional holidays dedicated to famous anime battleships and their female crewers whom the Author liked. _This_ particular Nadesico –**_these_**, actually; there were three of them with different single capital letter suffixes to tell apart each ship from the others– was the Nergal space battleship of _Martian Successor Nadesico _fame and name. That it was also dedicated to Hoshino Ruri was easily made apparent by the massive proliferation of paraphernalia and memorabilia bearing the ponytail-wearing girl's image. You could even say that it was really a Hoshino Ruri Festival, and not a Nadesico one, since we all know Sheo to be one of those irrepressibly repressed young men who just can't get enough of the girls he liked, especially the underage ones with blue hair and pale skin and chilly personalities. It started with Ayanami Rei, and there was no sign of it ending with Ruri. Whatever it was about blue-haired lolicon bait that drove Sheo to heights and depths of obsessive fan-boy-ism, the rest of the Authors have no idea. They don't want to know, either.

But the story digresses. Despite its militaristic/otaku-ish origins, Sheo's version of the Nadesico Festival was a much-awaited and enormously popular event. Among other things, it was a trysting time and place for sweethearts who wished to be forever in love with each other. It was very successful in that regard, no to mention making a lot of money and jobs while at it: Capitalism at its best. Never was a pair who swore fidelity upon the mystic 'bridge of promise' come close to breaking up or losing the allure of their romance. Even married couples in trouble needed only a few moments upon that marvelously sturdy bridge –a metaphor and parallel in itself with regard to love– and only a few memories of their old flames, and then they were reborn anew as lovebirds lost in splendid legend.

And Mai was going to the Nadesico Festival and to that bridge. And she was going with Hikki, and they would be alone together. Sayuri had promised not to bother them anymore, making things perfect.

She would be alone with Hikki, the way she wanted it to be.

_Forever.___

Her heart thumped wildly at that thought. She pressed a hand upon it in an attempt to calm herself, but still it beat in that strong heady manner, making her gasp for breath. Mai felt so wonderful and alive; a normal girl with normal wants and dreams. And now the dreams would be fulfilled.

Done dressing, finishing the final touches to her adornments, she left her room.

But Reia Namie was there.

"Reia-_sensei_?"

The immortal swordswoman was sterner than usual, if that was possible. She took in the younger girl's dress and the dreamy look on those bottle green eyes with a neutral glance. If she was a normal person, she would have completed the effect by frowning. But what Reia did was more chilling than anything Plaplaman or even Sho Tsuzuku could have done.

She simply said:

"Forget him."

"What?"

"Forget Hikki. There's no hope for the two of you."

Feeling threatened and frightened, Mai tensed and answered, "I don't understand."

"You will. Elde didn't know it, too, at first. He understood it later on, but only after losing Hitomi and nearly losing Kirika as well. He still doesn't believe it. And now, you're following his example."

"What do you mean?" It frightened Mai, the way her teacher stared and talked like that, as if she was about to die. But she would not allow herself to be frightened by mysterious warnings that made no sense. "Tell me what you mean."

Her crimson eyes were devoid of emotion. "I'm afraid you'll end up like Elde had once been," Reia admitted, the first time in millennia the word _afraid_ found itself on her tongue. "I'm afraid you'll become a bitter, disenchanted, lonely person with no meaning in her life.

"Wanderers are lonely people. I should know," quietly iterated the Nameless Wander Girl, remembering a girl all too much like Mai, a girl a thousand years and far away into the tragic past. "Of all people, I should know."

"I think Wanderers can be happy people if they choose to be," answered Mai. "Besides, I'm not a Wanderer; I'm only an Apparent." She didn't allow herself to be bothered by the way she casually belted out those words, failing to realize the gravity of her comment. "And I can always choose not to become one."

There was no answer. Reia just broke eye contact and looked away as her pupil left, pretending to be unconcerned– even though, in truth, she cared about Mai far more than anyone except one other girl did.

Mai was, after all, exactly the way Reia had once been.

_  
"And as you will no longer let tears fall from your eyes, let no tears be shorn by those you pass. Promise me that. For, j**ust as you shall cry no longer, no others shall cry like you because of people like me, they will cry no longer because of you**…"_

"I'm sorry," Reia whispered to the man she loved. "I'm sorry."

_  
Mai._

She was only five minutes late, but she looked a bit distant and flustered about something. She made up for it by the way her looks and dress bowled Hikki over, and exceeded the previous when she fastened herself upon his arm in the way a girl might do with her beloved. Hikki blushed but kept his peace. They proceeded through the festival in this manner, skimming through the stalls and enjoying the sights.

_Sayuri___

Not halfway into the grounds, Hikki glimpsed a familiar face in the crowd. After the next half dozen sightings, he became sure of it. An incognito Sayuri was doggedly tailing them, keeping a distant and worried eye on them. He didn't mind; he was, in fact, touched by this gesture of concern. If it was his _nee-san_ on a date, Hikki would most certainly be at her side, either officially as a chaperone or unofficially as the watcher in the shadows. Mriya was so irresponsible despite her age and power that her _otouto_ was actually the one in charge for the both of them, a laughable reversal or roles.

_Mriya_

Hikki remembered how his _nee-san_ always flung herself onto him, how she'd always embarrass him by nuzzling him affectionately or hugging him so tightly that he often found himself pressed up against her considerable bosom, badly wanting for air. Ky Kiske had been scandalized, even more so to see the totally unabashed Mriya huggle Hikki in public. The Holy Knight still had a grudge against Hikki for being such a loser, notwithstanding the fact that Ky himself was also a loser. At least Tohno Shiki didn't join in the ribbing. Now, that last guy was one true gentleman.

But it was only teasing, of course. Mriya was always a child at heart, a kid who enjoyed making people uncomfortable in whatever way she can. Aside from her _otouto_, Lone Wolf NEO was her favorite object of affectionate torment, all the more so because the latter already had a most possessive girlfriend. Having a very disapproving Hibiki to play against made it more fun.

Besides, Mriya and Hikki weren't really siblings. So, Ky or no Ky, there was no immorality or incest in the sight. Not that it was comfortable to the hapless cross-dresser boy involved, but it was nice to know he wasn't doing wrong.

But this was different. This was also very real. A real girl was draped upon him. She felt so warm against him, so light to the touch that she weighed little in his arms, so soft and close and at home with him. Her scent was so nice; he couldn't place the specific flower fragrance, but if it wasn't intoxicating then he wasn't in control of his senses. But he wasn't in control of his senses, much less of himself. And– oh, my God, was she really holding his hand to her chest?

**  
Of course she is. You have nothing against a cute girl pressing your hand on her no-no part, do you? You like it, don't you, Hikki-_kun_?**

_Ye– argh! I mean: No! Don't put words in my mind! I'm no Jack! And I thought this was a Sheo Darren story, not a gratuitous fan service scene from a lemon fan fiction!_

**Ah, but Sheo Darren is a repressed pervert. Remember _The Wedding Night 2_? Remember the _Advance of Fan Service_ chapter, with April and Jack and Jackie and ****Nazareth****? _Ecchi__ wa nanoha ikenaitoomoimasu,_ Hikki-_kun–_**

A malicious pause was followed an equally malicious, if invisible, grin.

**–You sicko.**

_Don't call me sicko! And who are you to put words in my mind?_

**Why, don't you know who I am, Hikki-_kun_? Lone Wolfie-_chan_ knew me quite well. He _should_. Why is it that you don't?**

_What? What do you mean by that?_

**Later, Hikki-_kun_.**** Finish your own little problem first. Then, you can fight me.**

The invisible smile grew wider.

**As a bonus of course; I just love bonuses**

_What? You're– You're–_

**Exactly…**

Light, and then darkness, claimed his thoughts. But not before he heard her laugh out one last sinister word.

**Omake****…**

_  
_"Hikki."****

Mai was lost deep within ecstasy. There was no resistance to her advances; the spell was firmly in place, binding Hikki speechless and motionless. It was as if something from within her seized the initiative, forging chains and holding him in place. All the while, her body burned and throbbed as madly as the girl's feelings for this helpless boy. She was on fire with a passion that was not hers– because it wasn't, because it was not from _within_ her, but from _without._

"I want to make you happy, Hikki. I can feel the pain you hide, the pain you keep in your heart. Let it go, Hikki. Let _her_ go. Forget her. Let me make you happy in her stead. Let me be the one in your heart. Take me, Hikki," she fervently pleaded, "Take me. Take me."

So saying, Mai raised her face up to Hikki's to kiss him– and bind him to her. Forever.

_  
_Delayed by a mass of people who had effectively carried her away from her friends earlier, Sayuri feared she had arrived too late. She'd found help and an explanation for why Mai was acting so weirdly, had run for all she was worth and despite the odds.

But she was almost out of time. Hikki and Mai were already in each other's arms, about to kiss, about to totally destroy their lives in that one misguided action that was not their conscious choice to make.

Nevertheless, Sayuri yelled out her warning.

"_Dame, _Mai-_chan_ _Onegai__ yamete, _Hikki-_kun! Taskette!"_

_  
"Mister Hikki…"_

_There was a girl before him, a girl who spun around to face him, the smallest and most heartfelt of smiles upon her shy but happy face, hands flung out in welcome for him, the boy she loved._

_But she wasn't Mai, the girl whom he held in his arms. Her hair was auburn and short; her eyes were a soft shade of the earth._

_She was–_

_  
"Mister Hikki…"_

**_  
Yuu._**

_  
_In that very instant, Hikki remembered who he was.

He broke away from Mai in a flash, hands held up to ward against an attack. the dark-haired girl stared at him, her shock quickly turning into despair.

"Hikki?"

"No. No, Mai." Each new word he breathed strengthened him, bringing him back to his senses. Each moment of freedom reminded him of how close he had come to ruining himself– and her. "I can't."

No longer did the unnatural attraction hold him fast. That fleeting memory of Yuu had brought Hikki back, and there was no way he would leave again. _No, not for the world,_ he told himself, _nothing was worth that_.

_Nothing was worth equal to her._

"Why?" Mai tried to reach for him, but stopped herself. "Why?"

He shook his head, returned her dejected stare with his own regretful eyes, and then looked away. "I can't forget her," sadly swore Hikki. "I can't forget Yuu. Not ever. I'm sorry, Mai. I'm very sorry."

Mai wept.

And then there was someone else nearby. Not Sayuri, though the worried latter was not quite far behind the first.

It was Reia.

Hikki was on the verge of a greeting, but Mai beat him to it. Blazing emerald eyes confronted serene sapphire ones. Her voice was taut and sharp, her thoughts illogical.

"You're trying to keep Hikki away from me, aren't you? That's why you don't want us to be together! You don't want to be happy, and you don't want anyone else to be happy! You want everyone to be like you! Alone and morose and unhappy! Don't you? Don't you?"

Reia ignored the wild accusations. Instead, she closed her eyes and spoke with regret, even as only a moment later they snapped open. Seed Mode overtook her, pupils expanding and contracting sharply. cosmically aware eyes, the better to drive her saving strike.

"Forgive me," she said.

And then she hit Mai in the chest–

Sayuri screamed.

–With seven consecutive blows–

Hikki didn't move.

–Upon the same spots where Plaplaman's _Sukebe__ Shinken_ had landed, but in the reverse order.

Staggered by the successive hits, breath and fight smashed out of her body, Mai toppled to her knees. Sayuri rushed to her side immediately, but there was no need to do so. Reia had told her earlier what she intended to do; Sayuri had reluctantly accepted. Now, Mai had been freed, but the ultimate price for her freedom had to be paid in full. The price was the truth– and the truth, Reia knew, would utterly destroy her world.

"_Sukebe__ Shinken_ does not attack the body; it attacks the mind." The Nameless Wander Girl was calm as the eye of the figurative storm she had just put an end to. "It does not kill, but it destroys. It awakens the sexual desires a person subconsciously harbors and accelerates it to the point that the victim can no longer control herself. Her amplified sexual urges thus becoming the driving force of that person's thoughts and actions. Plaplaman says it so: 'You're already _ecchi__.'_ _You're already perverted_."

And then all of the humanity within the Wanderer– that she had thought to be lost forever– came back, and Reia's eyes softened as she finished:

"There was nothing you could do, Mai. Believe me; it wasn't your fault."

_  
_Mai felt so empty. The effects of _Sukebe__ Shinken_ had indeed been banished by Reia's counter. The pain, the throbbing, the burning, all of these sensations were gone.

Including what she felt for Hikki.

_Perverted._The word was harsh on her tongue, caustic in her mind. _How apt. I've perverted myself, my emotions, everything. I've acted like a whore, nearly threw away my dignity and honor for emotions that were empty and false. I've ruined Hikki and Sayuri and Reia-sensei and Elde-kun with my stupidity._

_I've ruined myself._

There was an ache in her heart that knew no consolation, a little girl that stood for herself, who cried and cried and would not stop calling for the boy she loved. She considered what she had just learned and bitterly wondered if this feeling, too, was a lie.

Perhaps it was. Perhaps everything was a lie.

After all, life was one big lie.

When she forced herself to look at him one last time, Mai saw the sympathy evident in Hikki's eyes. He didn't castigate her, didn't blush or avoid her gaze. He simply communicated with his eyes that he understood why she had acted like that, that he didn't blame her or hate her or anything. That he didn't feel anything for her but compassion.

That he didn't feel love for her, just as she didn't really love him in the first place.

_My love for you was a lie_, both of them realized

_Oh, God!_

That was it. What was left of her emotions and self-control –indeed, her very sorry and pathetic little heart– broke apart, completely shattered. Mai ran away.

Sadly, passively, Hikki and Reia watched Mai disappear into the forest beyond the 'promise bridge'. Sayuri was already chasing after her fleeing friend, as disconsolate as the heartbroken– maybe even more so, so closely were they linked and so strong was her love for Mai.

For a long while, there was silence upon the causeway where they stood.

"Poor Mai," Hikki breathed at last. "She suffered in the end, and for a love she didn't really understand or truly own."

Reia shook her head. "She understood it well enough. She's just the latest victim in the vicious circle of Fate. Just like Elde, just like Daidouji Tomoyo and Hiiragizawa Eriol."

Her eyes softened immeasurably. "Just like myself, once, long ago."

_  
Hello, little star._

_Are you doing fine?_

_I'm lonely as anything in birth._

_  
Sometimes in the dark_

_When I close my eyes_

_I dream of you_

_The planet Earth_

_  
If I could fly across this night_

_Faster than the speed of light,_

_I would spread these wings of mine_

_  
Through the years and far away_

_Far beyond the Milky Way_

_See the shine that never blinks_

_The shine that never fades_

_  
Thousand years and far away_

_Far beyond the Silky Way_

_You're the shine that never blinks_

_The shine that never dies_

_  
  
_The chuckle froze them in place.__

**"Now why does it all seem so familiar? Tell me. Why does it all seem like we've seen and done this all before?"**

Hikki was cold al lover. He knew that voice, that same lilting false cheer, the very same girl who taunted and tormented him not a minute ago. The girl who stopped Person With Many Aliases in his tracks– and simply left.

**"No answer? I'll tell you what I think. It means that the vicious circle is repeating itself once more. This world has no definition of the word 'finish',"** the girl concluded airily.

It wasReia who answered, conversing in Japanese as if giving directions to a friendly passer-by, her words lyrical even as her message was ironic.

_"Tatoeru nara, rekishi toiu mono wa owaranai waltz no you na mono desu. Sensou, heiwa, kakumei no sanbyoushi ga itsumade mo tsuzuku."_

**Again the chuckle echoed all around. Hikki recognized the Wanderer's words: Mariemeia Khushrenada, _Gundam__ Wing: Endless Waltz._**

**_  
"History is an endless waltz, so to speak. The triple measure of war, peace and revolution goes on and on."_****__**

**  
"History truly is an endless waltz," **the voice repeated, quoting her own words from an earlier chapter, enjoying this little idiosyncrasy as much as Yuuki Darren did with her own obsession over flashbacks.** "The vicious cycle goes around and around, repeating itself over the days and weeks and months and years and centuries and millennia, humankind's joys and follies over and over again in bittersweet tribute. Nothing really ends; everything always goes on."**

They turned around and saw her. She was eternally young, the contrast of her pale skin and her dark dress likened to pastel moonlight splashed upon an ebon backdrop. Her broad smile meant mischief; her dancing eyes feigned innocence. A somewhat familiar blonde man in the black cloak and clothing stood as quiet sentinel at her side.

**"So it is with me."**

Throwing her long black hair back with a dainty toss of her head, the girl tipped her glasses up her nose and grinned.

"Four Murasame."

**_  
To Be Continued…_**

**  
**Next on _The__ World Within And Without_:**__**

The long-awaited battle begins, as Hikki unleashes the power of Chrono Falken and the Dragon Nagalintar against the mysterious might of Four Murasame. Meanwhile, Sayuri tends to a heartbroken Mai, even as a Wanderer and a Goddess assume their roles as observers and judges to the endless waltz of _The World Within And Without_. The darkness within the heart of the Chrono Trigger awakens…

Next Chapter: Part 5 – **_Chrono_**__


	16. Kanon Arc Part 5: Chrono

**Guilty Gear**

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**Overseen By:** Sheo Darren and Yuuki Darren

**Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities. Featured song is _When You Believe_ by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, from _The Prince of __Egypt_ Background battle song is _For My Pride_ from _Shadow Skill._

_  
_**Dedication: **For **Lone Wolf NEO**, the lone wolf who keeps on going despite rewrites and edits. This is for you and Hikki, Kiba-_san_.

**Kanon**** Arc**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Part Five of Seven Parts**

**Chrono**** Falken**Four smiled broadly at the Korean gale warrior and the eternal Japanese girl before her.

"Well, hello, Hikki-_kun._ We meet again, and this time in person. Should I say I am pleased to meet you? We've already met earlier, after all."

Her smile widened into a grin, Cheshire Cat-like, affably obnoxious. "But of course I'm happy, very happy._ Yoroshiku onegaishimasu, Hikki-kun. Yokatta."_

A hush followed. The blonde man stood still beside her. Though his eyes were closed, he seemed to see everything around him perfectly well. Indeed he was watching the Nameless Wander Girl with something akin to interest and anticipation. True to form, Reia Namie was oblivious to the observation as a tank was to bullets. Immortals were so stand-offish. At least Elde Talonn wasn't jaded yet, mainly because unlike his older colleague, the younger Wanderer had a girlfriend and friends. Translation: Elde had an active social life; Reia didn't.

But Kokurabuji Hikki was of a different make. He was mortal, subject to turbulent emotions that fought with each other for dominance. Despite his considerable power, he was still human, frail and vulnerable in the shadow of the storms of Life. He was so many people at the same time: God of Cosplay, Cursed Child of Chrono, Lone Wolf NEO's Creation, Host of the Dragon of Time, Warrior of Wind.

But first and most of all, he was Kokurabuji Hikki.

That was why Four found him interesting.

That was why she needed him for the next step of her plans.

"Why? Why are you doing this?" Hikki just had to know; even at the point of looking stupid or evoking the atypical good guy's wondering what made the bad guy do what bad guys do. "Tell me."

There was something so dark and despairing about him, the way he seemed so slow and withdrawn and exhausted. Hikki was a man haunted by the past. The memory of Yuu still ruled his heart. His late brother Zofeah lingered in his memories. Just a few moments ago, he was forced to break the heart of a girl he'd come to regard as a friend. Now he confronted a demon that masqueraded as a happy-go-lucky girl– and yet despite her reputation and intents, he could not bring himself to hate her for reasons he couldn't grasp.

Four knew all of this.

That was why she began to chuckle, which rapidly turned into full-fledged laughter, which in turn disconcerted Hikki.

"Are you making fun of me?"

Daintily she shook her head in the negative, but answered all the same. "My reasons are my own to hold," declared Four, paraphrasing a Handmaiden of Fate from a story and chapter long past, "And my counsels mine alone."

Her smile softened.

"But if you truly want to know, I'll tell you something. I'll tell you the reason why I am doing all of this."

Black eyes shone fervently in the dying light.

"Sheo Darren."

**  
**"Rheo?"

He wasn't Sheo Darren., but an artificial being made to look and act similar to the Author in order to perpetuate the illusion of the latter's presence. He was a clone, a simulacrum, a doppelganger: One who was not what he externally seemed. He wasn't even human. Yes, he did have free will; thus, all his decisions were made in his own discretion. But heavily weighing upon his consciousness was the knowledge of being made and judged in the shadow of a greater being, and that shadow was to weigh his actions to the extent that he became a mere puppet to it.

Then again, in some ways, he was but a puppet of Fate.

We all are.

"_Haii_, Ayanami-_san_?"

The fair-haired girl was not exactly one to inquire, but she _was_ the one in charge of him. After all, who better to understand a clone than _another_ clone? Besides, she had changed a lot ever since meeting a certain Filipino Author.

"Is there a problem?" Rei was as concerned as she ever could be. "Is something troubling you?"

The young man who pretended to be Sheo Darren shook his head. His smile was the only thing that was his truly and which was true.

"Nothing the world needs to know, Rei. Nothing it needs to know."

**  
**Kawasumi Mai ran.

Fleet as a sparrow in flight, hem and sleeves of her crimson _yukata_ flying, she ran. Her heart was broken into a million pieces, scattered into the four winds like pollen borne upon the once-blessed season wind that she now cursed and railed against. The ghosts of her past nipped at her heels, howling, unrelenting, torment personified as her mistakes and assumptions and hopes and dreams now become nightmares. Onwards she ran, not stopping, not pausing. If she had wings to flee from this earth and be free of all her pain at last, she would have long spread them and taken flight. She ran on despite it, lost in her turmoil and desperation, a wayward spirit borne on winds.

There should have no way that Sayuri could hope to catch up. She was less athletic than Mai, had shorter legs and less lung capacity, was a few seconds behind, kept stumbling on rocks and roots in panic-stricken haste, was wasting her breath in a fruitless attempt to persuade her friend to stop or even slow down.

Yet somehow, someway, she did. Sayuri closed, gathered herself, leapt forward. Her lunge carried her into Mai. The two girls tumbled to the ground in a heap. Mai tried to push Sayuri away, even half-heartedly pummeled her a few times on the back. But the brown-haired girl was a dogged burr who clung on tighter with every effort to get rid of her, pleading all the while, her tears soaking Mai's fine _yukata_.

_"Dame,_ Mai-_chan_! _Onegai__, dame!_"

She was crying as well. It was so unlike her. Mai was supposed to be strong and silent as befitting her family's samurai tradition. But not now, salty tears streaming from her eyes and down upon her cheeks bearing witness to a humanity suppressed but never destroyed or forgotten. Their tears mingled together.

"Go away, Sayuri. Leave me alone. Just let me be…"

"No. I won't leave you."

"I'm a horrible person–"

"No!"

"I tried to get Hikki to do– to do–" She choked on her words, even as the bitter pang of evoked memories –memories of Hikki and her in their damning moment– lashed at her once more. "I tried to destroy Yuu: Her memories, her name. All so I can get Hikki to my stupid selfish self!"

"It's not your fault! It was Plaplaman's _Sukebe__ Shinken_! You weren't in control of yourself during then!"

"The fact is that I still did it! I knew there was something wrong with me, and yet I didn't!" She was yelling now. "Where's my self-control, my dignity? Is this the kind of person you'd want to be a Wanderer? A woman who can't control her basest urges? What kind of person am I to do things like that, to be so weak like that?" unhappily demanded Mai. "What kind of person am I?"

"A person who needs love, that's whom." Despite the rebuke, despite her friend's bitterness, Sayuri held firm. "A person who needs someone in her life, that's whom."

Mai could not look her in the face, and so looked away.

"I can't bring myself to believe anymore," she murmured.

"Believe. Yuuichi believed in you. So does Elde, Yuuki, Sheo, even Reia-_san._ Even Hikki believes in you, however you deny it. We all do."

Sayuri's eyes, brimming with tears, were softly ephemeral.

"I believe in you."

The Sword Girl was speechless.

"I'll always believe in you," Sayuri swore. "And for you, I'll keep on believing in you, so that you can believe in yourself, too."

For what seemed an eternity of a moment, Mai was silent. But when she looked at her and softly said, "Thank you," Sayuri could not help but warmly hug her friend in joy.

"You're welcome, Mai-_chan_."

That was when they saw Her.

She was a woman who was both unnaturally young and wisely ancient. Long locks of auburn hair fell down her head and reached down even to the ground, which in turn looked up to her as if to kiss her. Sapphire pupils gazed at them serenely, a peaceful gaze beckoning them to come closer, a gentle command they followed without question or thought, only love and respect and adoration. Her face was luminous as the moon, shone with a light that was her own spirit revealed. Her smile broke hearts easily and without intending to and just as easily mended them. Even the odd blue markings upon her face did nothing to detract, only to highlight it. Compared to her, Mai and Sayuri felt like the biggest country bumpkins in the world– but only for a fleeting moment, and then the warmth of her came to take them in its arms and they forgot everything else.

For, in all ways, she was beautiful beyond words.

"Hello," she greeted them.

"Hello," they dutifully answered.

"I have waited a long time for you, Kawasumi Mai, Kurata Sayuri. Countless lives and millennia have I waited for you to come at last. At last, Fate has revealed a small yet significant part of its mysterious tapestry. Finally, you are here with me, and now you will become."

They stared at her, speechless, unable to understand, not knowing what to expect.

"You know me, don't you?" She smiled at them, radiant, encompassing. "Say my name," she asked. "Say my name."

And they answered: "You are Belldandy, the Goddess of the Present."

**  
**(**Background ****Battle**** Theme: _For My Pride)_**

Four deliberately drew a long line on the ground with the tip of her sandal. Then she backed away about a dozen daintily small steps. All the while, her gaze was locked with Hikki's, opals against emeralds.

"Let me offer you a deal, Hikki-_kun._ Here is a line. If you can cross it, I'll show you what I plan to do. If you can't–" Her grin was that of a mischievous child. "Well, boohoo to you."

(Needless to say, her comment rhymed.)

Hikki's eyes uncharacteristically narrowed in warning, even as a dark gale gathered in his hand.

"Don't underestimate me."

Then he threw a Reppuken–

–Not at Four, but at the line she had drawn.

Hexagonal patterns of light rippling from the micro-gale's impact point informed everyone present that there was an AT Field at the line. The pretend dismay Four displayed at the disclosure of her barrier's presence was belied by the wide grin on her face.

"You're very clever to have seen that, Hikki-_kun_." She carelessly shrugged. "Then again, Sheo always said that I was a bit too obvious."

Ignoring her, Hikki methodically began to lob a series of Reppukens, each progressively getting bigger and stronger than the previous. All were stopped. The AT Field didn't hold; it simply stood there. It withstood them all.

Hikki didn't care. He kept attacking.

"Hikki-_kun_," scolded Four at one point of this demonstration, "I said I would tell you my diabolical plan to bring upon the apocalypse Samael Tsuzuku failed to realize if you'd cross the line. I didn't say anything about you breaking it down."

"I'll break your line," he retorted between gritted teeth, "And then I'll break _you_."

"This is so unfair, you know: Transferring your hatred of yourself to me for losing Yuu and your brother–"

"Shut up!"

She pretended not to hear. "–not to mention dumping Mai-_chan_–"

"LEAVE MAI OUT OF THIS!" The Reppuken that followed his snarl was enormous, though not yet Kami-sized. It dented the AT Field. Just a bit, but enough to make people worry.

"Oh, my," Four murmured, demonstrating her mastery of understatement. "I think I hit a nerve there."

And Reia was moving forward now, favored scimitars that were the masterpieces of an unnamed Damascus master smith slipping free of their scabbards. Its Arabic name translated loosely to 'Spirit of the Night'. No enchantment lay upon it. Through sheer skill of its wielder alone, it had defeated countless foes and taken countless lives– both of which were in excess beyond what the Wander Girl cared to remember.

The cloaked man stood in her way. Smoothly the Wanderer settled into traditional fighting pose for scimitar wielders, her body sideways to her opponent in a half crouch, one arm held forward as both balance and shield while the other bore the curved blade halfway over her head. The man simply awaited her to make the first move. Reia obliged. A blur, as immaterial as the breeze her sword stood for, she struck.

The man parried the attack with such unbelievable speed that Hikki didn't see his stroke until it was done. He never thought he'd see anyone who would be a match for a Wanderer in terms of swordsmanship.

Neither did he see Reia. She was as fast as her opponent, already into her next lethal motion. Swords clashed. Metal met metal. The mysterious man used a Western sword whose blade he could extend some distance, but he was perfectly content with simply defending. It was a fiercely subdued whirlwind of steel. Already Reia's eyes were in Seed Mode, her movement accelerated, her reflexes fantastic. The man was equal to her speed and skill. Blow was answered by counterblow. No attack ever landed on its target. Their battle was a draw.

It was fine for Hikki. So long as Reia was holding her own front, he could freely concentrate on breaking down Four's defense. _As if I could,_ he told himself grimly. _The only way I'd get through was if she let me._

_Of course, I've still got this ace up my sleeve:_

"CHRONO INSTALL!"

Instantly Hikki was encased in a metallic blue aura that seemed soft as silk yet was hard as steel. He felt the Chrono power surge throughout his whole being, a flood of pure energy setting him on fire, invigorating and enervating him simultaneously. His consciousness began to drift, already being overwhelmed by the cursed winds of Time's madness. It took a lot of mental effort to hold his conscious self together, lest he lose control of himself and his power– and thus wreak havoc upon the unsuspecting world. Somehow, his training and discipline and the images of Yuu and –strangely– Mai giving him strength, he held on to his sanity.

Already on the throes of damnation, Hikki then took a further step into the jaws of hell.

_Nagalintar_He was as desperate as he could be._ I need your help! Please! Lend me your power!_

**_"What you are planning is dangerous for you, Hikki."_** The Dragon of Time was severely impartial. **_"I sense that she is merely playing with you. She is waiting for something. I fear this is a trap set for you."_**

_Trap or not, I don't have any choice in it! I have to stop her! If I need to destroy a hundred of her AT Fields and defeat a million copies of that swordsman, only if I can get any slim chance at stopping her, I'll gladly do it!_

**_"Yes, Hikki, I know you would. But blindly sacrificing yourself in a futile effort is not worth your life–"_**

"Or Yuu's."

Even submerged within the madness of Chrono Install, Hikki stopped.

"No one's life is worth that."

Four looked so different without her glasses. It was as if all the dark power within her had completely drained away, leaving her frail and helpless as a starfish that the receding tide had left stranded on the beach. Her voice was soft and fragile. Her long hair flared in a sudden wind, a network of black strands superimposed on a translucent tarp. Wavering fingers held on to her spectacles. She no longer seemed the chaotically malevolent being of awesome destructive potential, but a mere girl with her own wants and needs and excesses and vulnerabilities: Perfectly, simply human.

"All I am asking, Hikki-_kun_," she quietly pleaded, "Is for you to cross that line and hear me out. Is that too much to ask?"

The light faded, and in Four's place was–

_"Mister Hikki…"_

Yuu.

And then, despite his madness, despite his rage and hate, Hikki found himself walking towards the line, towards Four, towards Yuu, towards a Hell that was now Heaven for him.

Nagalintar was saying something, was warning him of the illusion. He didn't hear. Aside, Reia was engrossed in her own battle, needing every bit of her concentration and skill. He didn't care about her or her opponent.

No one could stop Hikki.

Not even himself.

Not for Yuu.

Hikki stepped up to the line. From Life, he prepared to cross into Death.

Four smiled.

At the moment he stepped into the barrier, Hikki found that he couldn't move further. Something was holding him back, preventing him from crossing. The barrier: It was keeping him out– No, that wasn't accurate. The AT Field wasn't keeping Hikki out. It was barring something within Hikki, an integral part of him that roared rebelled against this Fate with all of its might– and in denying this part of him any passage, Hikki was also being kept out. It was Nagalintar, of course, fighting to protect him– but from what?

_From myself.___

But it was to no avail.

The Will And The Word hath no equal.

Fate shall not be denied.

With all of his will, fighting against himself and his nightmares and Nagalintar and the whole world if it must be, Hikki forced himself onwards. He crossed the line.

There was a massive burst of light. The AT Field buckled; held firm at the last imaginable moment. Caught within that vortex was a shining shape, immense and imposing and powerful. Yet right now it was but a mere fly, caught in the spider's web of light, rendered helpless. And then the AT Field regained full integrity and cast the being outwards, repulsing the effort to penetrate the place which it sealed and kept separate from all others, a barrier of souls rejecting one who was no soul, a Forbidding.

The shape coalesced in being. It took on a reptilian shape, bewinged and befanged, all scales and horns, steam and smoke sizzling from its nostrils, awesome in all aspects: Demonic, but this demon was on the side of good. The world shook with its roar of anger. Time itself shuddered at its fury.

It was Nagalintar, the Dragon of Time, forcibly separated from the boy he protected, the boy who was Chrono Falken, he who was–

**_"HIKKI!"_****__**

But he had already gained the last few steps towards the girl who took the guise of his beloved Yuu. Once there before her, stumbling, he looked up to her face, into her eyes, and said:

"I know you're not Yuu."

Four dropped the illusion and let the last vestiges of Command Voice fall away from her prize. She'd known it all along, the fact that he knew she was pretending.

"But you have to trust me, Hikki-_kun._ Otherwise," she said simply, "You wouldn't be yourself."

Hikki actually smiled. Then he fainted. Four caught him as he fell.

**_"HIKKI!"_** roared Nagalintar. The blast of energy he unleashed didn't even nick the AT Field, now realized to be a separate conjuration and not Four's own defense. She was such a clever girl to hide her true plans and power through misdirection and deception, a fact which only angered the Dragon even more.

Aside, Reia had already realized her error. It was a trap. Hikki was now in Four's arms. The only reason this man had fought her was to ensure she could not interfere. The AT Field would hold Nagalintar off long enough for Four to make her escape good.

Conveniently, the Wander Girl had a solution for so-called indestructible barriers.

Her opponent would not let her escape that easily. The blade of his sword stabbed through the space where only an instant earlier had been her heart. He missed. Only an after image had lingered there.

"Impressive," the man commented, his first words for the entirety of the battle.

Freed, Reia threw her own cloak wide open, revealing the alternate dimensional space held within its folds. She pulled free from that surreal world a monstrous sword that was massive in breadth and length. What light remained in the dead day was sucked into that length of wicked dark metal, black as the darkest heart of evil itself, the maws of shadowy hell that devoured the hope of all those who entered it, sweetly invincible oblivion.

The Blade In Darkness Lost, the destroying sword bestowed by the Goddess Urd upon her chosen Swordswoman, a weapon that could utterly destroy Reality.

Already the cloaked swordsman was through the barrier and beside his mistress.

"Good work, Darkness-_kun_!" Four applauded her companion. "Did you enjoy your fight?'

"It was interesting," the man replied, his highest form of praise. "_She_ was most interesting."

Ignoring the revelation of her foe's identity, Reia rested The Blade In Darkness Lost upon her shoulder, fixed her free hand firmly upon its skull pommel, then leapt forward and lashed out with her Seed Mode-driven strength.

The AT Field shattered. The very space of Reality it occupied disintegrated, was drawn into The Blade Lost In Darkness. _The World Within And Without_ shuddered. The dimensional backlash harmlessly swelled around Four, Hikki and the man now known to be _Shadow Skill_'s Darkness, the last thought to be dead chapters ago but very alive and whole courtesy the dark girl.

Eyes blank and merciless, Reia stood in the midst of that storm, The Blade Lost In Darkness hungrily drawing power from the 'force wall' it had just destroyed. Aside, Nagalintar spread his glorious wings in challenge, fanged maw wide open and radiating power, Death awing and aflame.

But all of it was for nothing. They had lost this battle.

They had lost Hikki.

Victorious, Four grinned.

"It was a nice battle while it lasted, Reia-_san_, Nagalintar-_kun_. Don't worry. I'll take good care of Hikki-_kun_. Besides, this gives Mai-_chan_ the chance she's been training for all this year, doesn't it, Reia-_san_?"

The Wander Girl made no reply. Nagalintar, though, would have belched out a killing blast as answer had not Hikki been in the line of fire.

**_"This battle has only begun, Dark Girl! You will face my wrath and justice in due Time, or I am not its Guardian!"_**

"Sure, Mister Dragon, whatever you say! As it is, we'll meet again soon enough! Until then, prepare Mai-_chan_ for her exam, shall you!" She threw a flirty flying kiss at Nagalintar in the same way a certain Author's Assistant did so. "_Bai__, bai!_"

With that last grandiloquent farewell, Four summoned The Will And The Word and planeswalked. In the blink of an eye, she, Hikki and Darkness were gone.

Powerless to prevent this disaster, Nagalintar could only roar in dismal defiance. Beside him, Reia kept her own counsels, just as the world went still and the Goddess she served made known Fate's dictates to her envoy.

**  
**_Besides, this gives Mai-chan the chance she's been training for all this year, doesn't it, Reia-san?_

_Until then, prepare Mai-chan for her exam, shall you?_

**  
**"Mai…"

**  
**Belldandy smiled.

"I am indeed who you name me as. I am Belldandy, Norn of the Present, one of three keepers of Fate's secrets. On behalf of myself, my sisters, of Heaven and Fate Herself, I welcome you and thank you for coming, Children of Light."

_Children?_ Mai didn't like that term. She and Sayuri weren't kids. They were both grown up now. _Who was she to call us that?_

But Belldandy's ever-present smile effortlessly banished that unkind thought. There couldn't be any kind of rancor or anger with her. There could only be respect and understanding and unconditional admiration. Mai realized she was wrong and made to apologize.

"There is no need, Child of Life. I see that you are strong of will and independent of spirit. You are all of what was promised by Fate. Change not, but learn to harness yourself fully. You will rely upon them a lot if you are to fully bloom on your own light."

"I don't understand," Mai truthfully admitted.

"All Wanderers have a patron deity. My sisters are Elde and Reia's patronesses. Skuld, Norn of the Future, guides Elde, the Wanderer of the Future. Urd, Norn of the Past, sanctions Reia, the Wanderer of the Past. I, Belldandy, Norn of the Present, watch over the Wanderer of the Present."

Belldandy looked into Mai's eyes.

"Kawasumi Mai. You are an Apparent, a potential Wanderer. When you finally Assume the fullness of your trust, you shall take upon the mantle of the Wanderer of the Present. When you Assume, you will come under my blessing and direction. I am the one who will show you what needs to be done, the one who will set the Fate that protects you from any and all foes, the one who will comfort you when all is dark and who will show you where the Light leads.

"You are the Bearer of My Light, Mai," Belldandy told the dark-haired girl, "The one who will bring my Light for all to see and hear." Then, surprises of all surprises, the Goddess turned to Sayuri next. "And you are the Sword of My Light, Sayuri, the power that protects the Bearer of My Light."

Both girls were shocked for a moment, but in the next they began to protest. Again Belldandy shushed them with her radiance. Again they fell silent.

"I know. You say that you do not deserve to become a Wanderer, Mai. You say that you have no such power, Sayuri. But it is only what you wish to believe that makes you or breaks you, which limits you– or frees and fulfills you. The gift of free will –the power to choose– is one of the greatest gifts of people. Choose to believe in something. Fiercely believe in it. However impossible and ephemeral it may seem, if you believe in it, it will become real."

**  
**_Many nights we prayed_

_With no proof anyone could hear_

_In our hearts a hope for a song_

_We barely understood_

**  
**_Now we are not afraid_

_Although we know there's much to fear_

_We were moving mountains_

_Long before we knew we could, whoa, yes_

**  
**_There can be miracles_

_When you believe_

_Though hope is frail_

_It's hard to kill_

_Who knows what miracles_

_You can achieve_

_When you believe somehow you will_

_You will when you believe_

**  
****  
**"I must leave you for now, for I cannot tarry here too long. But know and believe," reassured Belldandy, "That I am always watching over you, waiting for you. My blessings go with you, Children of Life and of My Light. Heed your hearts. Take strength from what you cherish. Protect each other in all ways. And know that I believe in you always."

And then she was gone, but the two girls she had touched didn't really feel like she was no longer there. Like her smile eternal, her presence was always there in ways one could never really explain or understand. She never left, after all.

We never do.

**  
**_"Why do we do the dark things we do? Why do we hurt each other even if we say we love each other? Why are we so gentle with each other even so? Is it because despite ourselves and what we say and do, we still care for each other?"_

She glanced at the immortal being named Darkness, her shadowy ally whose whim alone bound him to her, and thought what he saw in all of this– and in her.

She gazed at the tortured soul suspended before her, the soul of Chrono Falken, and wondered anew at the necessity of what she was doing. Despite what all thought and said about her as a being of evil, she did have a conscience, did have feelings that were susceptible to hurt and disappointment and regret. She was just very good at hiding things, better than even her inverse number Yuuki Darren. And like Yuuki and even Hikki, the girl who was Four Murasame –and who was actually far more than what she seemed– was all too human.

All that while, in all of her thoughts, one person came back to her and made all she did right in his name.

"I'll bring you back." Her words echoed Hikki before her in their conviction and desperation. "Even if I need to fight everyone everywhere; even if I must defy Heaven and despoil Hell; even if it calls for the destruction of _The World Within And Without_; even if I need to deal with the devil of all devils that is Sho Tsuzuku, even. I'll bring you back. One way or another, I will bring you back."

_Sheo Darren…_

**  
**When Mai and Sayuri returned to their lodgings, they found Reia waiting for them. The only visible sign of worry the Nameless Wander Girl showed was the intensely subdued flicker in her crimson eyes. That and the fact that there was a very angry Dragon of Time beside her told them that something was very wrong.

A prickle of dread shot throughout Mai when she then realized that Hikki was nowhere in sight.

**  
_To Be Continued_**

**  
**Next on _The__ World Within And Without:_

_"Why do we do the things we do? Why do we hurt each other even if we love each other? And why are we so gentle with each other even so? Is it because despite ourselves and what we say and do, we still care for each other?"_

Next Chapter: _Part Six: **Sayuri**_


	17. Kanon Arc Part 6: Sayuri

**Guilty Gear**

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**Overseen By:** Sheo Darren and Yuuki Darren

**Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities. The featured song is _The End of the World_ from _Stellvia_, one of Sheo's most favorite new songs.

_  
_**Dedication: **For **Lone Wolf NEO**, the lone wolf who keeps on going despite rewrites and edits. This is for you, Hikki and Mai, Kiba-_san_.

**Kanon**** Arc**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Part Six of Seven Parts**

**Kurata**** Sayuri**

**  
**Ino and Raven arrived expecting trouble. Their mission was to locate and directly deal with the source of the pressing threat. If unable to do so, they were to hold the line until reinforcements could arrive. Ino and Raven were to protect all humans in the vicinity at all costs, a curious mission for two nonhumans. It seemed easy enough. There were very few people who could go up against the likes of Ino and Raven. Fewer could win. The two were among the most powerful of That Girl's agents.

But even they were only so much.

There had been a massive temporal distortion at the Nadesico Festival grounds. Already stretched thin by the still-ongoing PWAB offensive, the SDDF was slow to respond to this new menace. They would come, but it would take time. Ino and Raven were the only ones immediately available. They could jump through Time and Space anywhere, anytime, with only a thought. Yuuki herself would have gone personally but– but That Girl instead sent her two most trusted creations. She wasn't needed, not yet. The Will And The Word could wait.

The village was deserted. It was also a wreck. Everyone had fled the initial fighting. Homes and stalls were abandoned. Everything that could not be carried in the first few minutes of flight was reluctantly left to the attacker's mercy– or the lack of it. There were relatively few structures left standing, especially where the local police had tried to make a heroic but futile stand against the still-unknown enemy.

Ino and Raven kept close together as they began patrolling. They could easily feel the presence of their foe somewhere nearby. He –certainly it was a 'he'; the aura of men and women were distinctly different– wasn't making any effort to hide. Judging by the magnitude of destruction he had wrought and the power he radiated, he certainly didn't need to.

The next moment, he appeared.

**  
**He stalked through streets as empty as his heart, past buildings as razed as his soul. The blasted town symbolized all his tragedies and failures and presented it to him in its own metaphorical guise. It was an accusation against him, all the more so because he had brought this truth to pass. He was the destroyer. He was the damned.

He remembered. He remembered failing to stop the giant man who wished to gain his dark power– failed, and because of that his creator perished and his World imperiled. He remembered his sister, transformed by unspeakable experimentation into a killing machine that lived only to kill _him_. He remembered his brother Zofeah, the misunderstood man who ultimately gave up his own life in order to protect a boy who had lost all courage and faith in the world. He remembered his own madness, when Time stood still and the World he called home froze, when he Became the Dragon of Time and raged.

He remembered Yuu.

He could hear a girl talking. Midnight black hair rippled in the artificial light. Her spectacles shone. She reminded him of another girl entirely, one with vermilion-orange hair and ice blue eyes, one who wore eyeglasses and wielded the power to reshape Reality with only a considered will and a spoken word. He wondered how they could be so alike and yet so different, wondered what was wrong with _The World Within And Without._

_"We all fail, Hikki-kun. Humankind is an imperfect creation. What matters is that we accept the fact of it."_

But how could he bring himself to accept all of his failures? They stalked him. They haunted him. They hunted him.

And they made him who he was.

He rejected it. He rejected the words spoken by she who was an enemy, rejected the suggestion entirely.

Rejected it, and chose madness in its stead.

Now he raged. Now he raged against the world arrayed against him, against those who would stand in his way: All. He raged against his own weakness, fought his own helplessness even as he was helpless to stop himself from doing so. It was the result of all the denials and masks he used to hide the fact that he was plainly hurting. Instead of admitting, he denied it. In denying all of his failures, he made himself a haven he supposed safe.

As he raged and denied, he still remembered her.

_Yuu_

**  
**"_Kieru__… minna… kieru…"_

_Disappear... everyone… disappear…_

**  
**Even as Ino warily eyed their opponent, Raven activated his Codec.

"Miss Yuuki?"

_"Yes?"_ came the voice of That Girl.

"We've found the source of the temporal distortiobn."

_"Is it Hikki?"_

"Yes, ma'am, it's him."

In the Death Star, Yuuki paused.

"Run," she said simply.

**  
**The wind whipped around Kawasumi Mai as she once more sped to an unknown location and fate.

This time, she wasn't running away. She wasn't even running.

She, Sayuri and Reia Namie were riding Nagalintar. The great Dragon thundered through the night sky, a blue-black bolt of wrath. Vortexes of wind danced madly with every stroke and surge of his massive wings. Time magic sped his passage, accelerating his pace while slowing the world outside their bubble. Stars vanished in the blink of an eye, swallowed up by the span of his wings and the breadth of his body, a promise of annihilation to come. Aircraft and birds steered clear of the provoked beast. The message was patent. Death was awing.

As they flew, Mai clutched Ghost Hunter tightly to herself. Her sword's aura felt stronger than usual. She understood why; welcomed it, even. She would need all the strength it could give her in the coming battle.

_Life is a battlefield…_

And then they were soaring over the ruined village of bittersweet memory for Mai. The few fires still up flickered like glowworms in the dark. The place seemed deserted.

Then, a sound like thunder came.

Puzzled, Sayuri looked around. The sky was clear for miles.

Again the thunder boomed. A fierce battle was raging below them. Flashes of light flickered in between the charred hulks of the village's ruined structures. Some of them, purplish-bluish ones, looked and felt familiar.

"We must hurry," Reia called over to Nagalintar. It was one of the few times that the soft-spoken Wander Girl raised her voice, necessary because the roar of the wind drowned out much of what she said. "Set us down."

The Dragon of Time slowly circled the embattled village as he chose a safe spot to land. Incidentally, it was the very place that Mai would prefer never to have heard of.

It was the 'promise bridge', where she and Hikki–

But the thought was long past. It had lost most of its importance, if none of its meaning. Mai had learned her painful lesson all too well.

_The past doesn't count. The future is an illusion. Everything withers away with time. What matters is the present. What does matter is how I live every waking moment I am given._

And right now, this could possibly be the most important moment of her life.

The coming battle would decide whether or not she was worthy to become the Bearer of Belldandy's Light: The Wanderer of the Present.

With unnatural grace and skill his ponderous size belied, soft as a feather, Nagalintar touched down. Wings wide as barns snapped with a last smart crack before folding aside and out of the way. The three humans scrambled down his back, safe, solid ground beneath their feet again.

Mai was dressed for action. Nothing could best her old school uniform –the red blouse and short skirt, wide white vest, black stockings and durable shoes– in terms of unimpeded mobility and freedom of movement. Ghost Hunter and scabbard were loosely but securely strapped to her waist by a lengthy belt, allowing her to partly carry them around per her favored battle stance. Already she had her poker face on, was focusing herself on accomplishing her most important mission. For inspiration she drew upon the people accompanying her, them and the thought of a boy she thought she loved– and wondered if she still, truly, did feel special something for him.

Sayuri was likewise dressed. She had no weapons, didn't know how to fight, All she could do was provide moral support, but that and her presence alone were invaluable. Somehow, with Sayuri around, Mai felt more assured of herself than she had ever in all of her previous, lonely battles. The Sword Girl didn't feel alone anymore, not at all. Here was the person she swore to protect. Here was the girl that was all that remained to her, the reason for her martial existence, for all of the warrior class are meant to defend someone they believe in and care for. Mai would do her utmost to protect Sayuri– even if it meant giving up her own life.

Reia had not bothered to change her dusty clothes. Perhaps she didn't have any extra wardrobe to speak of– or maybe all of her clothes were nondescript cloaks, tunics, pants and boots of a faded, tattered gray. Whatever the reason, the Nameless Wander Girl was omnipresent, ever ready and totally untouchable. Protected by Fate, gifted beyond the limits of any mortal man, wielding the awesome Blade In Darkness Lost, she stood forever in lonely vigilance over _The World Within And Without._ But right now, she stood not alone– and was mightier for it.

And there was Nagalintar. The mighty Dragon of Time was an awesome sight to behold. Fully fifty feet tall and more than twice his height in length, he was a living, flame-breathing carnosaur. More than that, he was a being of pure Time energy materialized into tangible form, the closest thing to a true planeswalker that journeyed this Dimension. He was the benevolent Guardian of implacable Time. His scaly armored hide was immune to the ravages of history. His ancient draconic might was completely invulnerable against any sorcery or enchantment made by man. His destructive breath could not be measured; all instruments failed and melted in the blue-white inferno. Dragonfear –an intense psychological presence natural to dragons, which instilled fear in even the bravest of mortals– radiated from him in waves, stopping the breath of _The World Within And Without_ and all who lived within it.

_With companions such as these,_ Mai thought, _who could stand against me?_

The next moment, Ino came crashing down about ten feet from them. Raven promptly followed.

They weren't the answers to her question, of course. The answer was heading their way.

Mai froze.

It was Hikki.

But perhaps it was better that they had never found him at all.

**  
**"The greatest failure of humankind is its failure to consider itself a failure."

It was one of Four's little proverbs. She was a virtual farm for such semiprecious lodes of adages explaining life's big and little complexities in one compact package. Like Soviet literature, Four was full of surprises– especially one that she kept secret for now.

"I'm really sorry, Hikki-_kun._ But he has to come back to me. If I have to turn you towards your darkest fears and endanger one who is dear to him… That is the price we must pay– the price I am willing to pay, if only he would come back here."

**  
**Even as Mai stared at this apparition, Sayuri was helping Raven to his feet.

"I just need a breather, and then it's round two with this devil– for if he isn't a devil," Raven grudgingly conceded, "Then none have ever walked the world."

The Child of Chrono had taken on an aspect both dark and glorious. Luciferous blue-white light pranced around him like attendant satyrs, a nimbus of energy that ruffled and caressed his now-unruly black hair like a lover's hand. His eyes were blank, unseeing, his sight locked onto a separate view that was not of this Dmension. Where he walked, Life itself went still. He was a desolation angel come to sear the human world of its corruptions and imperfections: Everything and everyone upon it, including Hikki himself…

He halted upon the bridge of promises, stood there waiting. He need not hurry. He had lots of time, all the time in the world.

"Yuu…"

And Mai was suddenly walking forward to meet him. Even as Ino and Raven recovered from the shock and leapt forward to stop her, Nagalintar's footsteps shaking the ground as his bellow of warning made the world shudder, old nightmares coming back to life for Sayuri–

"Kawasumi!

"Are you insane, kid? You got a death wish or something?"

"Get back here, he's too much for you!"

"Mai-_chan_! _Dame,_ Mai-_chan_ _dame!_"

–Reia Namie stood in their way.

"Stay. All of you; stay where you are. Let her go alone."

A cacophony of protests, but one rose above all others due to the strength of its unhappy softness.

"Why, Reia-_sensei?_" Sayuri was in tears. "Why are you letting Mai go all alone? Do you want her to get killed?"

"This is her Fated battle, her test as an Apparent. She must prove herself worthy."

"Prove worthy of what? Of becoming a Wanderer?" bitterly demanded Sayuri, now hating the word and all it stood for: Loneliness, acrimony, pain, never-ending sacrifices.

The first bearer of that title was tranquil.

"Mai has to prove herself worthy of her self."

Mai walked towards Hikki. It was their second rendezvous at this very same promise bridge. But this was a meeting of fury. They came here not as friends, but as enemies. They came here not to fall in love, but to hate each other. They came here not to build something, but to hurt and destroy each other. They came here not to live, but to die.

Yet, somehow, there was a feeling within her that countered what she thought, words of comfort that flowed easily as wine and softened cruel paths with hopeful light. Was it the mark of Belldandy's wisdom? No. It was Mai's own.

_"Why do we do the things we do? Why do we hurt each other even if we love each other? And why are we so gentle with each other even so? Is it because despite ourselves and what we say and do, we still care for each other?"_

Green eyes met green eyes.

"Yuu," murmured the entranced Hikki.

"My name–" Mai nearly choked on her words, but went on. "My name isn't Yuu. My name is Kawasumi Mai."

And everything came apart.

**  
**Ghost Hunter was the materialized representation of Mai's pains, disappointments, doubts, fears and most especially unhappiness. Its blade was not made of any metal, but of the negative energies of those said emotions, energies held together into a physical form by powerful enchantments. Every moment its wielder despaired strengthened it. Every moment of fear reinforced its blade. Every drop of tears and blood shed allowed it to cut truer and sharper into the foe.

But like most swords –even the most powerful enchanted ones–, Ghost Hunter can be broken.

The battle was a draw. Mai could not make a dent in Hikki's defenses, even as Ghost Hunter grew more and more powerful with each passing hopeless moment. At the same time, Hikki failed to land a single blow on the elusively agile Sword Girl, Seed Mode allowing Mai to predict and react accordingly. Both fighters were tiring. Mai didn't have much strength to begin with and had no love for this battle, wondered if any of either was left in her. Hikki's lavish expenditure of power and his earlier encounter with Ino and Raven drained him steadily. At the rate they were going, it wouldn't surprise their edgy watchers if both collapsed out of sheer exhaustion. Maybe it would be best if that happened.

Then, Mai made a mistake.

It was an honest enough mistake, small enough that it shouldn't have mattered.

But battles cannot afford even the smallest of mistakes.

Mai tried to use _Amakakeryuu__ no Hiremeki_.

She underestimated Hikki's remaining power and overestimated her own.

Both assumptions were sins in battle. Both nearly proved fatal.

_"Amakakeryuu no Hiremeki!"___

"Time Halt!" Then: "FAINT!"

The reversal stance that only one other counter could beat stopped even the all-powerful crowning attack of the _Hiten__ Mitsurugi Ryuu_. The follow-up Overdrive– but a desperate Mai somehow brought Ghost Hunter up as a ward to Hikki's blow.

Everything went black, and then light returned.

Ghost Hunter shattered into a million pieces. Deadly shards went flying; one nicked Hikki's cheek despite his protective wall of energy, drawing crimson blood. But that was nothing compared to what happened next.

The full force of the ruined blade of ghosts' negative energies hurtled back into their rightful place: Mai.

Ino and Raven were speechless. Nagalintar was frozen where he stood.

Reia was still and cold as a statue.

Sayuri screamed.

The emotional tempest was almost corporeal. The Sword Girl was nearly torn apart by their violence. Suddenly, all the pain and disappointment and envy and fear she thought banished for good were back with a vengeance. They flooded her instantaneously, surged past defenses battered and weakened by her battle with Hikki, found her fragile soul and fought over it– and, in the process, nearly shredding the very essence that was Kawasumi Mai. It was a miracle that she didn't die outright. Unhappiness can hurt or even kill a person, just like an ordinary weapon.

But somehow, Mai survived. Somehow, when she fell, she managed to land on her knees. It was all she could do not to topple over, though she failed to keep herself from hunching partway over. Her whole body hurt. Her lungs constricted. She couldn't breathe. Her heart hammered long and slow.

She realized her failure.

She had failed Reia, Belldandy, Yuu, Hikki and herself.

Mai couldn't help but weep.

She no longer cared that Hikki was bearing down on her, his aura aglow in red fire, aiming to finish her with his Instant Kill. She no longer minded that Ino, Raven and Nagalintar were storming forward to protect her– trying, but utterly failing, their interference too late for them to matter. Even the fact that Reia –the one person who might have been able to save her– had made no motion to protect her escaped her. What did it matter? She failed. She was not worthy to become a Wanderer, much less to be herself: Kawasumi Mai.

And now she would die.

And the saddest part of it all was that Mai would be leaving Sayuri all alone to the mercy of a harsh world.

_I'm sorry, Sayuri._

**  
**"Mai!"

**  
**Hikki couldn't stop. He was already well into the motions of his Instant Kill, was so familiar with it that he could perform it perfectly even in the most distracting and confusing of battles. Besides, once an action passes a certain point in time, it cannot be recalled anymore. It is what some call 'the point of no return'.

But this time, Hikki wanted to stop–

"CHRONO–"

–Because the girl in front of him was Yuu.

"–CROSS."

**  
**There is a legend saying that when people die, their whole life plays before them. Every moment of tenderness and sadness replays itself, allowing the person to see what he or she had lost– or had gained. Every joy and pain is magnified, accentuating it, bringing it to life and then taking it away just as breathlessly. In a way, this is the ultimate reward for a person: To see mistakes, to pine for loss, to understand sorrow– and to be at peace with one's self at last.

Sayuri thought it was beautiful.

She had always wondered what she could do ever since Belldandy called her the 'Sword of Her Light', "the power that protects the Bearer of My Light". _Me? Protect Mai?_ Maybe the Goddess meant Mai protecting _her_! Sayuri didn't have a shadow of the power and fighting ability that her best friend bore in abundance. She didn't even like fighting! How could she ever protect her friend'?

Now she understood what Belldandy had meant.

Now she understood her power: The power of choice.

The power to choose to lay down her own life for the one she loved.

Sayuri threw herself in front of Mai. Her frail body absorbed the full killing strength of Chrono Cross instead of its intended target. One heartbeat, she was there between Mai and Hikki, a beatific smile upon her face. In the next was darkness and sirens, terrible howling sirens. Into the third horrifying beat, she hung upon an azure cross, nails of blue light impaled through her wrists and feet, blood running freely from her wounds as water from a fountain, as Christ Himself did more than two millennia ago. Before the fourth and final heartbeat resolved completely, she was falling, falling fast, fading as quickly as she fell.

Mai caught her. The two girls collapsed upon each other. But only one was to rise again and live: Mai. The other–

Sayuri would die.

**  
**Hikki fell as well. With his fall went his madness. The latter was destroyed. He was restored to himself.

But at what cost?

There was no denying there was a price to his sanity, nor was there any doubt to its heavy import. The price of Hikki's salvation and Mai's life was a fragile girl with tresses of brown hair limply hanging down her head, vivid cinnamon eyes happy even with death come to claim her. Again, the thought of a week ago reverberated inside his head, the idea that came to life when he first saw her: A girl who was all too much like–

_Yuu__…_

_I've killed Yuu again._

**  
**"SAYURI!"

**  
  
**_Kono__ sora no iku hate ne_

_Mada__ mienu, mirai no nami ga ari_

_Ikite__ iru ikutsu mono unmei o koete yuku_

_Dare ni osowari, dare ni kotoe iru no darou_

**  
**_Hito__ wa tsukiru inochi ni madowasare_

_Toki ni hito ni tsuraku ataru yo_

_Tatoe__ kyou de kono sekai ga owarou to shite ite mo_

_Kimi__ o mamoru darou_

**  
**_Hito__ wa tsukiru inochi no aima ni_

_Deau__ koto ni, obieru wa mada nai_

_Tatoe__ kyou de, kono sekai ga owarou to shite ite mo_

_Kimi__ o ai suru darou_

**  
**At the end of where this sky goes,

The waves of the future cannot be seen yet.

How many of us have risen above Fate during our lifetimes?

Who's going to teach us? Who's going to ask us?

**  
**People are bewildered that life must end

And time strikes them harshly.

But even if this world ends today,

I will still protect you.

**  
**People are frightened of encountering the end of their lives 

But I am not afraid.

Even if this world ends today,

I will still love you.

-

-

"People are frightened of encountering the end of their lives, but I am not afraid. For, even if this world ends today, I will still love you."

Belldandy opened her eyes.

"I will still love you."

**  
  
**

**  
_To Be Continued…_**

**  
**Next on _The World Within And Without:_

_"People are frightened of encountering the end of their lives, but I am not afraid. For, even if this world ends today, I will still love you."_

Next Chapter: _Part Seven: **Wanderer**_


	18. Kanon Arc Final: Wanderer

**Guilty Gear**

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**Overseen By:** Sheo Darren and Yuuki Darren

**Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities. The featured song is _Realize_, the fourth opening song of _Gundam__ Seed_. Song excerpts are taken from _The End of The World_ (from** Stellvia of the Universe**) and _Oh, Angel_ (**Fatal Fury**).

_  
_**Dedication: **ForKurata Sayuri, a kind heart whose soul dwells now in happier places more fitting to her wonderful nature. May we never forget what we have lost– and gained…

**Kanon**** Arc**

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Part Seven of Seven Parts**

**The Wanderer**

**  
**She is.

Midnight hair flew in the seasonal winds of proverbial Fate, winds she once blessed in happy times and cursed in darkest hours, the same ones she allowed to caress her in greeting and subservience, envoys of endless days to come, messengers inscrutable to all but those who chose to listen with their hearts. Emerald green eyes that saw through the darkest veils of shadows that deception weaved as if the clearest of glass now beheld _The World Within And Without_, judged the entirety in silence and found the scales lacking– and yet withheld her verdict, even as times and tides swept everything away into sweetly invincible oblivion, as the World changed anew. At times her eyes took on an unnatural light, seeing where no other could glimpse, reaching where no one else could touch, feeling where all others would give up in despair. She pressed the crimson folds of her garments against her small body and soaked in those memories, reliving them, keeping them alive as she did so. Beside her was the wandering sword blessed by angelic might and the love of a heart that would not die, singing softly and sweetly of precious things and dearest people, renewing her leash on her undying life. Then the corners of the small line of her mouth would curl upwards in memory of happier moments– times that had long since passed, and yet still lived on _in_ her, _as_ her, _with_ her.

She is the invincible paladin of the Goddess of the Present. She is the immortal warrior maiden who has only two equals, a swordswoman protector who defends the right, part of the legendary warrior class. Protected by immutable Fate, guided by divine foresight, immune to the passing of Time that lays low all else, bearer of the fey prescience that was Seed Mode, wielder of the Traveling Sword of Angels that was once –and still is– the very heart of the girl she cherished above all others: She is.

**  
**Only a day ago…

"SAYURI!"

Distantly the scene was that of the Pieta, the powerfully enduring image of a grieving Mary bearing the lifeless body of her beloved Son. Mai was on her knees, Sayuri gripped tightly in her arms. Blood ran from the wounds in the latter's palms and feet. Mai could feel her friend's life force slowly ebbing away with every drop of blood and every passing second– feel it, and was entirely powerless to stop it.

The force of her grief could not be measured nor described. Each person's sadness was his or her own. Each person's sorrow was special to the one who felt it. For Mary, the death of Jesus was the greatest anguish a mother could feel: To see her beloved son put to death by the very people he was to save. Despite all she had known, despite the reassuring messages of Gabriel and foreknowledge of life after death and her own powerful faith in God, it must had been very lonely to be her, there at the foot of the cross, utterly helpless to save Jesus.

Mai understood very well what Mary felt. The Sword Girl herself was an orphan of the times and the peoples around her. Her strange affinity for spirits and budding mystical abilities frightened the people around her. Her midnight hunts distanced herself from them even further. _Freak_, some called her. _Witch. Truant. Rogue._ They didn't know what it meant to be alone in the dead of night and surrounded by the materializations of your own fears, forced to fight a hopeless battle against yourself, to lose the battle again and again. They didn't know what it was like to be her. They didn't know the girl named Kawasumi Mai.

But some knew. Some people cared. Among them were Yuuichi, Elde and Reia.

And Sayuri, Mai's dearest Sayuri.

And now that girl who was very dear to her was dying in her very arms.

A memory of _Hamlet_ came to mind, when Laertes –overcome with grief at the death of his beloved sister– lost all composure and self-control in a fit of human emotion. _"Hold off until I have once more held her in my arms!"_ And then, the cold lifeless corpse of Ophelia clutched to his bosom, what was to be his final command if Fate had not decried otherwise:_ "Now pour your dust upon our grave, until a mountain you have made!"_

Her protest was less voluble. Her oratory was less fiery. Yet her passion was a match for Shakepeare's greatest– was all the more superior, for this was not fiction but real, all too real.

"Sayuri, please. _Onegai_ Sayuri. Don't die. Don't die on me."

_Don't die and leave me all alone…_

Reia Namie was beside them now. The Wander Girl was a silent source of strength simply by being there. Her very presence brought the kind of tranquil stillness that Allah inspires on a good day in Mecca.

"You knew she was going to die." There was no accusation or anger in Mai as she spoke, just a whispering calm of sadness that had no bounds. "You knew Sayuri would die if I fought this battle, didn't you?"

Reia slowly nodded once.

"I know. I am a Wanderer."

"And yet you never told me. You didn't warn me at all."

"I could not. Even if I had wanted to–" and those crimson pupils became very human, "–and I _did_, yet I _couldn't_."

"Why?"

"It is Fated."

"That word again?"

"Yes. All of this is Fated. Fate –or God, Yahweh, Allah, Brahma, the Lord of Nightmares, whatever supreme deity you believe in; they are all but names and incomplete conceptions of our limited minds– sets our immutable destiny in Her own way. All of our lives and deaths and battles comprise just one small insignificant String in Her final, still-unrealized Tapestry. There is no fighting against Her. There is no one to fight. We do not know Her nor Her wishes. We know only that our lives happen the way they are by Her Will and Her Word. Even the most powerful Authors are beholden to Fate. Even Sho Tsuzuku follows Her wishes, however he may believe that it is by his own free will that makes his path."

"Is free will then an illusion? Are all of our efforts for nothing?"

"No. I told you that there is nothing to fight. Fate both exists and does not exist. She does not have any identity we can permanently identify as Her. Instead, it is our actions and their consequences that comprise Her. We make Fate. She is our creation. And in creating Her," finished Reia, "We bind ourselves to Her."

And that was when Sayuri opened her eyes at last– and for the last time.

There was a peaceful light in those brown pupils, a light born of a quiet acceptance of one's Fate. She knew she was dying. She knew her death was coming, knew it ever since she had looked into Reia's eyes in the moment preceding the battle, when she saw the unspoken sadness in them. It was the same sadness in Belldandy, come to think of it. Now that she had so little time and life left in the world, Sayuri could clearly see all the things she had missed at first. It wasn't obvious, the way the Goddess' smile was tinged with grief, but it was there. She could hear that beautiful voice singing all the while, sad and forlorn and lonesome, yet laced with a reserved force that was that of the single most powerful thing in the World: Love.

**  
**_People are frightened of encountering the end of their lives_

_But I am not afraid._

_Even if this world ends today,_

_I will still love you…_

**  
**There was a balance to be kept. Their lives hung in its scales: Sayuri's and Mai's. Sayuri was the judge of this balance. She had the power to choose which way it would tilt. She would decide what outcome she wished to happen, whose life to save. If Sayuri chose to save Mai, then she would die. If she chose to save herself, it would be Mai who died.

She chose. She could have chosen otherwise, but she didn't.

She loved Mai too much for that.

But that was all right. If she needed to give up her life an endless number of times, if only if her beloved would be all right in the end, then Sayuri would gladly do so.

But she had only one life to give and lose. And she was losing it now.

"Mai?" Her voice wavered uneasily from strong to weak and back. "Are you all right?"

"I should be asking you that!" The Sword Girl cried out as if sorrow was a physical pain inflicted upon her. "You're the one who got hurt for me!"

"I… I suppose you are right," Sayuri sighed. She carefully leaned her head upon her friend. "I feel so strange. It's like I'm both cold and warm. Like ice, and yet like fire. But mostly warm. I think it's because of you being here with me that make me feel nice, even in the end–"

"No!"

"There's no denying it, Mai. I'm dying. But I'm happy. I've done my part. It's just like Belldandy said. You're the Bearer of Her Light. I am your Sword, the one who protects you."

"My… My sword…" _But my sword is Ghost Hunter, and it is broken–_

"I am your Sword," firmly repeated Sayuri. "I am your protector. I've protected you from harm. My mission is done. That is why I am happy. And that is also why you should he happy, too."

She talked softly, slowly. Her sentences fragmented with every breath she took. Yet she endured despite the pain. There was still life left in the tiny wreck of her body, enough to matter. Sayuri carried on her last minutes by the grace of Belldandy– and the love she had for Mai.

"Listen to me, Mai. I have no regrets with losing my life this way. I am happy the way it is. Let it be the same with you keeping yours. Do you feel sad for me?" she asked.

Unable to speak in answer, Mai could only nod.

"Don't be sad for me. You think that you will be alone. But that is not true. I'll always be with you despite everything. Death will not keep us apart. It will give me the power to stay with you as long as you need me– even forever. Because you will need me immensely in the days ahead, I think. They will be long and lonely for you, even with Hikki with you for most part.

"You must live, Mai. You must live. Hikki will need you in the dark days to come. You will need him, too. The world will need you. That is why you must live. Live for him. Live for you and your life with him.

"But mostly," concluded the faded Sayuri in a hushed tone full of love, "Live for me."

And Reia, she who was once a nameless wanderer girl, remembered the man who gave her the name she now bore.

_"For, just as you shall cry no longer, no others shall cry like you because of people like me, they will cry no longer because of you."_

And another Wanderer –just arrived in this wasteland of hearts torn asunder, too late to make a difference– also remembered a brown-haired girl he dearly loved.

_"Live. If not for yourself, live for me."_

"Yes."

Mai smiled.

"Yes," she swore, "Yes, I'll live for you."

And then Sayuri smiled a last time– just like three other people with the same hearts and soul as her, who lived and died long ago and yet shared the same fateful destinies that entwine all of us in the end.

Leto Altreides, prince of the destroyed kingdom of Eden.

Hitomi Barrens, the waif who bore the scent of cinnamon.

Yuu, a girl with an eternal smile.

Before the last breath left Sayuri's body, before the vibrancy of life was gone from her face, before her brave loving heart was finally stilled, Mai told her and Reia– acknowledged it without looking up to her senior, holding Sayuri's eyes captive until they finally went blank and saw a different world than theirs:

"You're right," Mai confessed. "Wanderers are lonely people."

**  
**The shard was just that: A sharp sliver of razor steel. Once, it was part of a whole. Once, it was the receptacle of all the disillusionment and doubts of a certain Sword Girl. Once, it was of a sword named Ghost Hunter.

It was gone now. Ghost Hunter had shattered into innumerable pieces– just like its owner's heart. Its potent enchantments were gone, dispelled when the weapon that was to them a second home was destroyed, the negative energies and emotions they kindled returned once more to their rightful bearer– a bearer who became all the more stronger through surviving and regaining them.

He should know. He was the one who destroyed it. He was the one who had hurt its wielder in both heart and body.

He was the one who killed Sayuri.

He was the one who killed Yuu.

Again…

Hikki held the shard very carefully, letting what remained of its edge cut into his palm. Blood trickled from the shallow cut. He did not have the courage to clutch to tighter, to let the edge cut deeper. Not yet, not until he had realized the magnitude of his folly and performed penance.

He was a sinner. He was the damned. He had hurt people. He had deceived himself and others. Most of all, he had killed. Not only that, he had killed an innocent.

He had killed Yuu yet again.

The metal splinter shone faintly. As if it still retained some of its capacity to absorb unhappiness and transform that negative emotion into mystical magical energy that reinforced its cutting edge. As if it drank whatever it could of his sadness and fulfilled what little it could remember of its purpose. Just for a fleeting instant, mind; but it was long and palpable enough that it became real to him, all too real.

It meant that the shard of the sword of ghosts could still cut as cleanly through flesh and bone, as if it was still the completed killing weapon instead of a ruined castoff.

It meant that it could still take lives.

Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.

A life for a life…

His life for Sayuri's– and for Yuu's…

Now his hands closed upon the shard tight. Hikki aimed it for his heart, his sinful foolish heart that had driven him to all this evil, the heart that could not accept the truth. A heart that still denied, a heart that still dared live when it ought to have burned away long ago with the girl it loved– the girl _he_ still loved. Now its selfish palpitations would be silenced. Justice would be done for his crime.

_Forgive me._

Feathers of light scattered in the sudden wind their wings kicked up. Firm hands stopped Hikki.

It was Elde Talonn.

"Just what do you think you are doing?"

The Swordsman No More was angry. It was the first time any of them had seen him so. The immortal warrior was usually a cheerful person save in battle, when Seed Mode superseded his consciousness in self-defense. But even then he didn't become angry, only distant– not cold, but distant, remotely disconnected from feeling, as inhuman as he could be without losing his humanity, a necessity in war.

But Elde was angry now. Those cheer-laden black eyes positively blazed as he tore away the shard from Hikki and cast it aside. The younger man was reminded of the swordsman's creator, the basis for those eyes, black eyes that he had seen blistering mad only once, only a fan fiction ago. Sheo Darren continued to live in the eyes of his created Wanderer.

"Damn it, Hikki! Just what do you think are you doing? Sayuri didn't sacrifice herself just to have you kill yourself out of your own _stupidity_!"

He flinched. Elde had a point to make, and he rammed it home as hard as he could. Suicide was always an ill-thought endeavor. And Sayuri– but it was for Sayuri that Hikki was doing this! He had killed her. Again. He deserved to die. He tried to argue, tried to explain, but the Swordsman overrode him.

"It's not stupid–"

"Yes it is!"

"How should you know about what I feel?"

"I should know!" Elde snapped. "I tried to kill myself before, if that is what you want to learn!"

Hikki stared at him in shock.

"Surprised, aren't you? I don't seem the suicidal type, do I?" The swordsman's voice softened as the memories returned. "But a long time ago, I was. A long time ago, I suffered a loss that I felt I could never regain in my life. I became a sorry, pitiable being who didn't see the light anymore. All was dark for me. And in the darkness of my heart, I came to think that by dying, I could experience happiness again.

"I thought that if I died," admitted Elde, "I'd be with Hitomi again."

"But, then, about Kirika–"

"She was like me. Kirika suffered a loss, too. She lost the person she loved. Mireille. We were alike in ways. We even blamed each other for our losses, tried to kill each other. We thought Death was the answer to our sorrows.

"But Time changes for us," the Wanderer held. "Things change.

"Love changes us."

**  
**_People do fall in love_

_Though they may swear that the pain won't let go_

_Forevermore:_

_I'll burn the flame of your dreams in my soul!_

**  
**Then, a wondrous thing happened.

Sayuri began to glow. Glowing wisps came to life around her and Mai, a glittering dancing blue-white array, mystic fireflies in the night. Some flew before Mai as if curious puppies, but mostly they congregated upon Sayuri. They flitted around the lifeless girl tentatively. Then, as if it had made up its mind to lead the others on some unknown quest, one of the wisps entered Sayuri, vanishing instantly as it did so. The others rapidly followed quickly. Mai had no time to react.

In her arms, Sayuri grew warm. She shone until her individual features could no longer be seen, as if she was made of faultless energy. She grew so bright that Mai had to avert her eyes despite herself. But the Sword Girl held on to her friend all the more tighter.

_Is this the end?_

When the light finally died away, Mai felt, then saw that Sayuri was no longer in her arms.

Instead, there was a sword.

It was a simple Western blade, thirty-some inches long, lacking embellishments of any sort. Even its brown leather scabbard was of a plain make– and that, perhaps, was what made it extraordinary, the fact that it was entirely ordinary. It was also exactly identical to Ghost Hunter in all visual aspects. But it was not the late, destroyed sword. This new weapon was different. It was indestructible, timeless, ancient might. The mystical energies that it channeled were not negative, but positive. The emotion it drew upon was not despair or doubt, but hope. The source of its might was not just its wielder, but all of those whom she loved. Their greatest hopes, loftiest dreams and brightest desires made it –and her– invincible.

It was the Sword of Traveling Angels, Traveler, blade of the Wanderer of the Present, the Sword that protects the Bearer of Belldandy's Light.

Most of all, it– _she_ was Kurata Sayuri.

_You think that you will be alone. But that is not true. I'll always be with you despite everything. Death will not keep us apart. It will give me the power to stay with you as long as you need me– even forever._

Without a word, Mai hugged Traveler to her bosom and cried for Sayuri.

**  
**A day later…

"Are you ready?"

Mai nodded. Today was the big day, the culmination of the past year of training and the battle of the previous night– and the dearest she had lost. Immediately after this was a battle. Lone Wolf NEO was hard-pressed in his World. Aiming to destroy the Author and claim _Heart of the Melty Blood _for the PWAB, the Iron Fuhrer MK II had launched its great offensive. Tessa Testarossa and her Mithril force were already on site. So was a noncombatant medical team. Yuuki Darren dispatched the AEGIS Team plus Fio (_Metal Slug)_ and Jo (_Burst Angel)_ to protect the medical team and help Lone Wolf repulse his foes. That Girl was also preparing a second, heavier wave of reinforcements, a task force especially equipped to defeat the robotic Mk II attackers. But they would need all the help they could get in order to succeed.

Three Wanderers ought to be useful.

Yet, despite the awesome moment upon her and her friends, Mai felt utterly at peace, like Sayuri had only last night.

Part of it was that she was surrounded by friends. Wanderers of Past and Future welcomed their newest brethren: Elde Talonn, flanked by Yuumura Kirika and Kino, grinned at her. The unsmiling but proud Reia Namie stood beside her. Ino and Raven were there in Yuuki's –and Sheo's– place. Nagalintar was present, too, the Dragon of Time an aptly interested audience.

And there was Kokurabuji Hikki.

He had recovered somewhat. Not fully, not for a long time, but already he looked better. His madness was gone. There was an air of sadness in him. He still blamed himself for Sayuri's death. Despite receiving Mai's sincere forgiveness last night, despite heartfelt reassurances and truthful pledges, Hikki still felt guilty. Perhaps he would never truly heal. Perhaps he would never forgive himself. But the urge for death had left him, at least. Elde's words had affected him in the right way. And never is too long a time, even for a Wanderer, even for the Dragon of Time.

Now he made his way to Mai. They tried to smile at each other, succeeded. Then, Hikki could not hold the swell of his emotions back any longer. He embraced Mai, hugged her tight, crying into her shoulder. She cried, too, cried for him and herself and poor happy Sayuri and all who had suffered loss. They didn't weep, they just shed and shared tears in silence.

"Congratulations, Mai," Hikki managed at last. "Good luck," he added.

She grinned at him, gave him an experimental kiss on the cheek. He blushed. That was a good sign.

"Thank you."

She was never alone.

After all, she had Sayuri with her.

So, Mai turned to meet her chosen Goddess.

Belldandy was, as always, radiantly beautiful. The Norn of the Present smiled in greeting at the dark-haired girl. Immediately Mai fell to one knee, rising at the Goddess' gesture.

"Welcome, Child of Life. Welcome, my Wanderer.

She kept silent, but nodded in respectful acknowledgement.

"Are you sad for Sayuri?"

"Yes."

But there was none of the pain anymore. Neither was their resignation. Instead, there was acceptance in her voice and in her heart. Instead, there was peace and love.

"I will not make any excuses, Mai. I know what you feel. I myself could not have prevented Sayuri's death. I loved her too; I saw her death coming. I have much might to wield, but in the end I was not able to save someone I love. In truth, I am not the Goddess of Fate. I am only one who tries my best to interpret Her vague wishes. I make mistakes. We all do, for we are only human.

"Listen closely, Mai. A Wanderer is always burdened by loss. There are things that even the mightiest of us cannot stop. People will get hurt. Families will be destroyed. Lives will be ruined. All of these will happen even with our best intentions and actions. We cannot save everyone. We can only do what we can.

"But Wanderers fight despite that. Why is that? Why do we fight? We fight to prevent the loss of what people hold dear. We fight with all of our power and skill and faith because in fighting against the Fate we ourselves uphold, we might be able to protect someone else. Then the people who value that person will not lose him. They will not be sad.

"But you cannot fight something without knowing for yourself what it is. To fight against sadness, one must know sadness itself. To fight against loss, we must know loss. And we can only know something if we experience it for ourselves. In order to understand pain and loss and the very essence of living, we must lose someone we love. Then, only in losing someone we value, only then can we truly be alive. Only then can one be called a Wanderer.

"For Elde, it was Hitomi. For Reia, Leto. In each case, the person they lost were the ones they loved the most. It is the same for you, Mai. You have lost Sayuri. You know what loss is now. You have experienced it. And you will fight against anything that would make people lose their dearest, just like you had lost your own.

"A Wanderer fights for lost causes, so that such causes, the people who believe in them, and even the Wanderer herself may not be lost."

Then Belldandy smiled. "Someone wants to meet you, Mai."

"Is it someone I know?" the girl asked half-joking.

"She thinks that you are tops. She wants to express her admiration for you as a friend and as one who loves you a lot."

And when Belldandy stepped aside, Mai gasped.

For the person there was Sayuri.

There was no need for words. Mai simply hugged Sayuri very tightly and warmly. Sayuri hugged her back and whispered in her ears:

"You did well, Mai-_chan_. You're now a Wanderer."

Her answer was to uncharacteristically but happily tighten her hug and bury her face into her friend's clothes.

"I will always be with you, Mai. I will be there as Traveler: Your protector, your shield.

"But most of all," she said, "I will be there as Sayuri."

"I know," Mai told her affectionately. "I know."

****

**  
**_Tadoritsuku__ basho sae mo wakaranai __Todoku__ to shinjite ima omoi wo hashira seruyo_

**  
**_KATACHI kaete yuku kokoro mo kono machi mo__Dakedo__ kienai negai ga aru_

**  
**_Chigau__ yume wo mite onaji sora nagameta__Ano__ hi chikatta "Makenai koto"_

**  
**_Zutto__ futari kono te tsunagezu ni__Umarete__ kita imi wo sagashiteta_

**  
**_Tadoritsuku__ basho sae mo wakaranai __Todoku__ to shinjite ima omoi wo hashira seruyo__Ayamachi__ mo setsunasa mo koeru toki __Negai__ ga HIKARI dakishimeru mirai wo yobisamashite_

****

**  
**I do not know where I'll arrive atI believe I'll reach there, I'll let my thoughts run for now 

**  
**The form of the heart and this path changesBut there is a wish that never disappears 

**  
**Seeing a different dream, looking at the same skyThat day I swore: "I will not lose" 

**  
**Our hands will always be joinedAs we search for the reason we exist 

**  
**I do not know where I'll arrive atI believe I'll get there; I'll let my thoughts run for nowThe time when I get over my mistakes and painMy wish would be embraced by light, calling out to the future 

**  
**I do not know where I'll arrive at

I believe I'll get there; I'll let my thoughts run for now

I leave my mistakes and pain

These same skies as that day... will head towards you and remain

****

**  
**She _was_ the Sword Girl named Kawasumi Mai.

Now, she has Become.

Now, she is a Wanderer.

**  
**Four Murasame sighed.

She was so like a certain Author, the way she let her breath out slowly in a manner meant to be relaxing to her, cute and quiet. It was actually a sigh of disappointment. All that hard work and planning, all that angst and suffering and death, even the flame from Nik Hasta (Four had been both very amused and somewhat disquieted at the way everyone except Person seemed to hate her), and yet the entire endeavor was a dismal failure– for her.

Sheo Darren had never appeared.

"Why?" She was talking not to the thin empty air, but to the missing Author. "Why did you let Sayuri die?"

There was no answer to her query.

Again, Four sighed.

Then she smiled.

"Well, then. If this did not call your attention…"

She turned to Darkness. The immortal warrior did not stir one bit, but he was quite alert for his 'mistress's next wishes.

And now Four grinned at him.

"Time to go to the next Arc, Darkness-_kun_. _Ikimasu_"

But before that, she swore yet again to bring him back. Somehow, someway, he would come back to her.

"Sheo…"

****

**  
_End of the Kanon Arc_**

**  
**Next on _The__ World Within And Without:_

"_Magandang__ araw, mga debotong mambabasa at kaibigan!_ This is **Yuuki**** Darren** posting a **most important** message for you readers of _The World Within And Without._ You see, in a review of Part 6 earlier, **Person With Many Aliases** pointed out that the Kanon Arc did not fit in with the _Guilty Gear_ concept. We happen to agree with his observation. Thus, since the upcoming **Interlude Arc** is even worse off than the Kanon Arc, we are temporarily **_moving_** the **next** **two** **chapters** of _The World Within And Without _to the **_Misc_****_/Crossovers_** section in order to please requirements (and to try gaining new converts for this story, too .) We will **return** to _Guilty Gear _once the Interlude is done, though we may switch back to _Misc__/Crossovers_ whenever we need to. Please, if you wish to be informed of the next **update** sometime in the next **two or three weeks**, **_add us to your Author Alert list_**! We will send you **e-mails** informing the imminent posting of the next chapters, but if you did not receive any, feel free to **check either Sheo Darren's bio pag**e or **_Misc_****_/Crossovers_**. We wish you the best. Meanwhile, please, do continue **enjoying** this fan fiction! _Domou__ arigatou gozaimasu! Maraming salamat po!"_


	19. Interlude: Character Insert Karaoke Nigh...

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**Overseen By:** Sheo Darren and Yuuki Darren

**  
Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities. All song lyrics featured here are taken from 

**  
Dedication:** To Invader Zam-4, that Marlboro-chain-smoking, H-game-playing, _hentai_ anime-loving, hyperactive Prozac-laden madman who claims to be an Author in his saner moments, and who has the temerity to screw my avatar so badly that I want to wring his neck– yet who is, above all, a friend of invaluable proportions. To quote our common friend S.T. (as well as John Constantine): "Cheers."

**  
****Chapter One**

**First Interlude**

**Part One of Two Parts**

**  
Character Insert Karaoke Night!**

**  
**Sylphe Phenomena Eternal –Handmaiden of _The World Within And Within;_ keeper of the ethereal half of this World; and the one true romantic love of Sheo Darren– sang.

Her song sustains _The World Within And Without_. It is the reason why all Handmaidens sing. Singing establishes a link between themselves and their Worlds. It allows them to know everything that happens within. In turn, Handmaidens are the bridges that span the gap between creator and creation. They connect the World to its Author. Their song is their World's lifeblood. It keeps the scales of the Seen and Unseen in delicate balance. The mystic girl who was the better half of the Author she aided was a beautiful Atlas with the weight of her World upon her shoulders.

But she is not alone. Her burden is not borne alone.

The Handmaiden is the Soul Mate, Equal and Source of the Author she attends. She is the soul of her partner. She shares his responsibility in protecting and preserving the Fan Fiction. While Authors take care of the material and substantial (physical) domain of the Dimension, Handmaidens are primarily concerned with the immaterial and the insubstantial (mystic) nature of their World. In their hands lay the task of caring for the unseen elements of the Fan Fiction: Time, Space, Magic, Life, Light, all the elements that comprise the essence of Reality as all in the World conceive of it. The Handmaiden is as powerful as her respective Author. She has the power to interpret and even manipulate the very Threads of Fate, allowing her to glimpse many possible futures and to manipulate everything leading towards the correct future.

The roles and responsibilities of Handmaidens and Authors are equally important and fatefully intertwined. If one fails in his or her part, the other's part will suffer. Time would stop. Life would cease. The Walls of the World, the barrier between the reality of The World Within and the nothingness that was The World Without –thus the title of this fan fiction–, would collapse. The Timeless Void held without the Walls shall sweep the World up into its arms of invincibly sweet oblivion.

Everything that existed would be Undone.

All will become nothing.

Including the Author and his Handmaiden…

That is why Handmaidens and Authors cooperate closely. It is to insure the safety and wellbeing of their World. Together, their powers and efforts maintained their home. Together, they exist. Together, they live.

Yet Sylphe was alone now. Sheo Darren had left for parts and reasons unknown to all– that is, all save Sylphe. There were no secrets between Handmaiden and Author. The contents of their hearts were clear to each other. Even if the Author was in another far-away World, his Handmaiden –irrevocably bound though she may be to their home– knew of every single thing that happened to him. Their link could never be dissolved or destroyed. It would last as long as they.

For they can live forever, if they so choose.

Sylphe sang. As she sang, the World lived.

As she sang, Sheo Darren lived.

Then, suddenly, she fell silent.

She had felt the slightest of dissonance in her hitherto perfect song, a discordant twang in the melody of her universe. There was only one explanation for this. Something from beyond the Walls of the World had crossed the Timeless Void, disrupting the fragile balances of this World, its carelessly rough passage accounting for the dissension in her song.

Something was entering _The World Within And Without._

No. It was some_one_.

Patiently, needing only a thought, Sylphe restored what had been upset in the Unseen of her responsibility. Then she waited. Gatekeeper of her World that she was, no one could enter her Fan Fiction without her express permission. She also knew that there was only one person she could expect to do so, having been told –and forewarned– of _him_ by her Author.

He appeared.

For a long moment, the stranger gazed at Sylphe. He obviously enjoyed looking at her. She was a beautiful sight, after all, what with her long raven mane and eternally youthful face. But the Handmaiden did not return the look. Her eyes were closed as almost always, the better to enjoy and live out her song and her World. But her blindness was only pretend. She could see very clearly everything that happened. She saw clearly who had come.

Smiling, Sylphe asked:

"What took you so long?"

**  
**Starting this year, a special occurrence takes place in _The World Within And Without_. It is mysteriously fascinating to all of those who have heard of it, even just rumors in passing, so much that they wish to join themselves. But they cannot. This event is a private affair. Only certain chosen souls are accepted into this extraordinary affair. Invitations to outsiders from this closely-knit circle are very rare.

It is, after all, a family reunion.

In the brand-new tradition established by Invader Zam-4 in _The Misadventures of Ky Kiske _comes a special two-part Interlude that highlights the special people living in the wide dominion of the (quote from Invader Zam-4) "the beautiful wasteland known as Sheo Darren's world, disastrous marriage capital of the whole fanfic continuum" (unquote).

It is:

**CHARACTER INSERT KARAOKE NIGHT!**

**  
**Yuumura Kirika and Elde Talonn stood up for the opening round of CIKN. They would do a duet, Wanderer and Noir together through the fast-paced beats of _Moment_. Elde was a music lover who knew well the power of music to uplift hopes and dreams. Kirika shone in a most unexpected way, her underestimated voice shining with conviction. Together, the two entranced their audience with the song that stood for their own private, personal love story.

**  
**_Dare mo mina samayoi nagara kotae wo sagashite_

_Futari naraba jikan sae mo shihai dekiru to omotteta ano koro_

_Tsuki hi wa nagare sora no ima mo kawaru you ni surechigatteta kokoro_

**  
**_Megurikuru kisetsu no naka de_

_Ano toki ga tomareba_

_Ii no ni_

_Futari mata sayoi nagara_

_Kono sora wo __kanata__ ni_

_Ai wo sagashite_

**  
**After shyly accepting the mike Kirika generously offered her, Chloe took a while to think of a song suitable for her self. Then, inspiration struck. The former assassin girl's first hesitant lines slowly escalated into a confidently sung _Canta Per Me_– Italian for the very words Kirika encouraged her fellow Tree with: "Sing for me."

**  
**_Canta per me ne addio_

_Quel dolce suono_

_De' passati giorni_

_Mi sempre rammenta_

**_  
_**_La vita dell'amore_

_Dilette del corio_

_O felice, tu anima mia_

_Canta addagio_

**  
**Kino would not be left behind. The girl who was once named Sakura had her own life's worth of experience regarding the power of music in the lives of people. Kirika's adopted little sister now played the role of traveling minstrel to souls of a more sedentary nature than hers. Her song conveyed her never-ending wanderlust upon a most _Beautiful World_.

_Tooku de furidashita ame_

_Dareka ga nurenagara, sotto furueru_

_Yama wo nukete, kumo wo tashikame_

_Kaze ni furete, hoshi to deatta_

_Soshite tabi wa tsudzuiteru_

_So the Beautiful World_

_Bokura wa iku, chiisana koe_

_So the Beautiful World_

_Kikoeru kara, sekai wo hashiru_

**  
**An ebullient Tessa Testarossa obliged the eager gathering with the cheerful _Full Metal Panic_ song _Kimi Ni Fuku Kaze_, which could almost be said to be her image song, especially in the Tessa-centric episodes of_ Fumoffu._ All the while, she was aiming flying kisses and naughty winks in the direction of her socially-ignorant crush Sagara Sousuke, much to the annoyance of the nearby Kaname Chidori.

**  
**_Hashiri dasu shunkan sakamichi de kaze ni_

_Yakitsuketa hizashi ga mune no oku atsuku shita_

**  
**_Kimi ni chikazuite iku tabi hayaku naru_

_Toki wo kakeru hajimari no yokan saseru anata ga suki_

**  
**_Chiisana ai de itsumo soba de atarimae no jikan_

_Kyou dekiru koto wa konna fuu ni nanigenai koto de_

_Kimi ga furimuku you ni mijikaku kitta kami ga yurete_

_Mata hitotsu fueru waraigoe sora ni hibiite yuku_

**  
**Kawasumi Mai, Wanderer of the Present, recently returned from Lone Wolf NEO's _Heart of the Melty Blood_, joined in. Her song was sad, but her heart was light and happy. In her arms, Traveler –the living sword of angels that was Kurata Sayuri– accompanied her best friend's every breath, lending credence and power to a heart that would never forget its _Last Regrets._

**  
**_Arigatou ianaiyo_

_Zutto shimatte oku_

_Sayonara ha kagerinai_

_Yume no ato shizuka ni oritatsu_

**  
**_Ryouteni ha furisosogu kakera wo_

_Itsumademo itsumademo daite_

_Saiko made waratteru tsuyosa wo_

_Mou shitteita_

**  
**With Mai was her new boyfriend: Kokurabuji Hikki. The 'King of Cosplay' displayed not only his skill at impersonating Kuradoberi Jam but also his command of _Shine_, the opening song of _Hellsing._ Fortunately, Father Alexander Anderson was not there to harp or brandish knives. Anyway, Hikki did a well-enough job of it. It was a pity his creator Lone Wolf was not here, but the Author had begged off following important business in his own World. So, in his worthy stead was Hikki.

**  
**_I never really feel quite right_

_I don't know why, all I know is there's something wrong_

_Every time I look at you, you seem so alive_

**_  
_**_Tell me how do you do it, walk me through it_

_I'm following every footstep_

**_  
_**_Baby on you're your own, you take a cautious step_

_Do you want to give it up?_

**_  
_**_But all I want is for you to SHINE_

_Shine down on me_

_Shine on this life that's burning out_

**  
**Reia Namie disliked social gatherings. The Wander Girl would have skipped CICN had not Urd personally ordered her to take a break from her wandering and join her younger 'siblings' while ate it. In a rare display of agreement with her elder sister, Skuld added push to shove. Even Belldandy joined in.

Who was Reia to argue with Fate?

So here she was, singing the song that was special to her heart, for it was a memory of her identity and her never-ending mission and the man who still loved her beyond the grave.

**  
**_Hello, little star_

_Are you doing fine_

_I'm lonely as everything in birth_

**_  
_**_Sometimes in the dark_

_When I close my eyes_

_I dream of you, the planet Earth_

**_  
_**_If I could fly across this night_

_Faster than the speed of light_

_I would spread these wings of mine_

**_  
_**_Through the years and far away_

_Far beyond the Milky Way_

_See the shine that never blinks_

_The shine that never fades_

**_  
_**_Thousand years and far away_

_Far beyond the silky way_

_You're the shine that never blinks_

_The shine that never fades_

It was Ayanami Rei's turn. The First Child easily stepped into Hayashibara Megumi's rendition of the Sinatra classic _Fly Me To The Moon_. She was quietly entrancing, soft as pale moonlight yet radiant as the eyes of the Author who held her dear– and whom she, in return, also cared for in ways that could never be measured save by those who bear these selfsame emotions.

**  
**_Fly me to the moon_

_And let me play among the stars_

_Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars._

_In other words, hold my hand!_

_In other words, darling, kiss me_

**_  
_**_Fill my heart with song_

_And let me sing forever more_

_You are all I long for, all I worship and adore_

_In other words, please be true!_

_In other words, I love you!_

**  
**And on and on the microphone changed hands, singing issuing all the while from its holders: From classic _Southern Cross_ heroine Dana Sterling –perhaps the first to join Sheo's 'association'– to the ethereal faeries Hoshino Ruri and Lumiere, to newcomer Robin Sena of _Witch Hunter Robin_, each girl –and the few men, such as Seta Soujiro of _Rurouni Kenshin_– broke into song. The night wore on. The singing went on.

Finally, the mike passed upon Loki. Everyone was expecting him to sing _Believe In Heaven _or _Rakuen No Tobira,_ opening and ending songs respectively from his home anime _Matantei Loki Ragnarok_. The smile he had on, and the way he winked at a puzzled Yuuki, suggested otherwise.

To everyone's surprise, Loki began to sing an entirely different song.

**  
**_Yane no ue de sora o aogu, haizashi wa uraraka_

**  
**The demon detective aimed a knowing look at Yuuki. That Girl grinned back knowingly and took up the next lines with gusto.

**  
**_Miageru sora karadajuu genki ga minagitteku_

**  
**In synch, voices arm in arm, they took up the following lines together, the people around them awed by the two souls could come together so effortlessly and make seamless beauty out of words and music.

**  
**_THAT'S SO WONDERFUL!_

_Ikitierunda!_

_Yamerarenai, akiremur da nante_

**  
**_Tohou ni kureta kinou ni sayonara_

_Futsufutsu to wakiagaru kono kimochi_

_Nando demo yomigaeru, hana o sakaseyou_

_Omoide wa itsu mo amai nige basho_

_Dakedo tachi kera, asu o ikuru tame_

_Sukufuku no toki wa kuru, teo nobashite_

_Te o nobashite_

_Ryoute agete!_

Together, Yuuki and Loki – children who were not children, not at all, but Norse God and Author Assistant– sung the happily silly opening song of _Love Hina_, the sum of their own romance.

Together, Yuuki and Loki – children who were not children, not at all, but Norse God and Author Assistant– sung the happily silly opening song of , the sum of their own romance. 

**_  
_**_Uruwashi no yawaraka na hada, imada te wa todokazu_

_Meo o tojireba fukuramu IMEEJI, miwaku no kajitsu_

**  
**_THAT'S SO WONDERFUL!_

_Ikiterunda!_

_Yamerarenai, sono saki mitai_

**  
**_Dotou no hibi wa tsuzuku, doko made mo_

_Tengoku to jigoku, yukitsu modoritsu_

_Nando demo yomigaeru, han o sakaseyou_

_Sore de kurushimi __nara__ nozomu tokoyo_

_Shukufuku no toki ga kuru, te o nobashite_

**  
**_Tohou ni kureta kinou ni sayonara_

_Futsufutsu to wakiagaru kono kimochi_

_Nando demo yomigaeru, hana o sakaseyou_

_Omoide wa itsu mo amai nige basho_

_Dakedo tachi kire, asu o ikiru tame_

_Shukufuku no toki wa kuru, te o nobashite_

**  
**_Te o nobashite_

_Ryoute agete…_

**  
**As with all good things, the CIKN ends. All of its participants head back to their lodgings to rest for the next day's trials and tasks. Yet they go with their hearts lighter and their spirits higher. Song does that to people. Beautiful song always does that to you.

Finally, the only people still up were Loki, Yuuki and a third person.

Reiya was fast asleep. Their companion volunteered to take her back to her room. Neither Yuuki nor Loki protested. That Girl had forgotten to get something from her office. Loki promptly offered to accompany her. The offer was immediately accepted. It was one of those convenient excuses that just might turn into something if exploited properly. If their companion had any opinion about its possible outcomes, he kept it to himself. He _did_ bid his mistress to be careful and not to tire herself too much, "If you know what I mean." Loki laughed while Yuuki smiled. She loved the way her creation willingly went out with the little farce they played on the World.

Through it all, Reiya cutely snored.

It was very nice to be alone, kissing someone you love until the breath ran out of both of you. They hadn't done so for a long while, not with Reiya around to pester them. Fate would not be denied Her pairings, though. Think of it as 'catching up' and 'making up for lost chances'. And they had a lot of catching up and making up to do.

When they finally broke off to happily pant for air, Yuuki told Loki: "I love you."

He smiled as he ruffled her hair affectionately. "I love you, too."

They were getting very familiar with each other, and then Yuuki held Loki off.

"Do you think you can wait? Until we're married, that is?"

"Is this another thing Sheo drilled into my Yuuki's head?"

"He said the best things were meant for last."

"He's a wise man."

"Silly man, actually."

"Wise enough to know how silly he is."

"Wise enough to insist that we get married elsewhere. He seems to think that his World is bad for people he likes."

"Well, he _is_ your father. I suppose Daddy knows best."

"Loki!" Yuuki was adorable in protest, even bopping his chest as she did. Then her expression grew somber. "I wish he was here."

His embrace softened, familiar. "He'll be back," Loki told his darling. "He promised, didn't he? He'll be back."

"Well," she joked, a smile returning to her face, "If he doesn't come back soon enough, I just might let myself get ravished by you right here and now, tradition or no tradition."

"Would you want me to?"

"Do your worst," she impishly challenged Loki. He grinned and returned:

"That would set Sheo off a bit, would it?"

"He'll be mad for a few centuries. Then he'd forget what it was all about. Besides," slyly suggested Yuuki, "He's mellowing with age."

"Oh?"

"Yes. You know how his friends –especially that scumbag S.T.– are getting to his head. And Sylphe is _very_ persuasive. And his little sister Jess is starting to call him 'Lolo' (that's 'Grandpa' to you non-Filipinos out there) instead of 'Kuya' ('Big Brother')."

"And that bothers him?"

"We, he _was_ counting the white hairs on his head pretty carefully, last time I heard from him…"

Laughing, they entered Yuuki's office.

There was someone there.

"'Ello, Yuuki. Pleased t' meet ya."

It was Sho Tsuzuku.


	20. Interlude 2: Deeper Darker Descent

**Crossover**

**The World Within And Without**

**Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**Overseen By:** Sheo Darren and Yuuki Darren

**  
Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities. Featured song is _Half-Pain_ from _Witch Hunter Robin._

**  
Dedication:** To Sho Tsuzuku, who is even now plotting to save the world of fan fiction by hastening its destruction: Admirable goal; less than admirable, though, are his methods. In fact, scratch out the word 'admirable'. Oh, well. Whatever works, I suppose.

**  
Chapter Two**

**First Interlude**

**Part Two of Two Parts**

**  
Deeper Darker Descent**

**  
**The pool was liquid night ringed by marble black as obsidian, black as the small form an uncomfortably close margin to its rim, alone in the middle of nowhere. Its smooth surface changed not in texture despite the action of wind and earth, not being water or any liquid by nature. There was no reflection upon it either, though it seemed to glimmer in a fey way at night. True light could not penetrate to any depth. Any inquiring ray of gold that touched it was swallowed up hungrily, never to illuminate the world again. Thus were the secrets of the pool kept in perpetual obscurity by this frightening device. The fey twilight fire was an external manifestation of its power, power of the highest, purest, mightiest nature.

It was no ordinary pool that the girl stood before. Fittingly, neither was the girl ordinary.

Four Murasame stood before the Doors of Night.

She was dressed in her black sundress (noun and adjective clashing together in irony) and wore a wide-brimmed bonnet of the same color. The silvery bracelets on her wrist and ankle, trinkets that often tinkled with every movement of her petite frame, kept still in respect and adoration. Borne in her small, delicate hands was a bouquet of violets. The purple flowers symbolized faithfulness: Four's faithfulness to the man who gave her life, not just once but twice.

The first time was when she was born as her original self, when she first beheld the World that was then called _The Wedding Night_, saw it and found it good The second time was after she had died, as foreordained by Fate and him who created her. Her second life began when her creator called back her essence and set it in a glorious new _human_ body, her current form as Four Murasame in _The World Within And Without_.

But her surname was not Murasame, though technically her first name really was Four.

Yet she would keep her real name secret for now, lest those of this World learn of her true nature and use it against her.

For now, she remained unknown to all save as Four Murasame.

"Hello, Sheo. How have you been?"

**  
**"Well, 'ello, Yuuki. Pleased t' meet ya."

It was Sho Tsuzuku.

Yuuki went cold.

The easiest (but partly incomplete) way to describe Sho was that he was Geese Howard in a business suit and with a lawyer's sense of (or lack thereof) ethics. A more accurate description would be the following: Body frame based loosely off the first King of Fighters, expensive Gucci business suit, power tie. His hair split in half between two colors: Black on one side, white on the other side. His eyes were sinister little orbs, miniaturized black holes that glowed. Sho exuded an aura of complete and utter confidence, as if he believed he could take on the whole world. He probably could.

He was seated in the big plush recliner chair. Yuuki's chair, which was once Sheo's. Sho wore a pleased expression on his face and seemed perfectly at home here. His shoes were propped up on the office table. The paperwork left on the desk seemed afraid. They ought to be.

Loki immediately put himself between Yuuki and the Author in a protective posture. Not that he could even slow down Sho if it came down to a fight, but the gesture _was_ something. He was surprised, though, when Yuuki nudged him aside. The look in her eyes told him to let her handle this. It also told him to stay out of it.

That Girl calmly stepped forward and curtly said:

"Sho."

The name was breathed like a curse, poison to the speaker and her 'father' and all of this World. The man who bore the name smirked.

"Cheers."

Which basically meant "Glad to know you know me" for him. The Author made a show of looking around and shaking his head in pretend dismay. "Yer office's dull, by the way. Then again, I s'pose _his_ taste s'ain't exactly great, eh? It _was_ _his_ office before, right?"

Her silence served as his answer.

"_He_ never was good with decor," was Sho's comment. "We'll have t' remedy that."

If there was any indication that the careless way the former beloved occupant of this office was belittled got to Yuuki, That Girl did well in hiding it. The only clue to her temper was the coldly direct way she commented:

"How nice of you. Can you leave now?"

Sho's smirk grew more pronounced. "C'mon, Yuuki. This is our first pers'nal meet, and ye'r already kickin' me out? Where's yer sense of Filipino hospitality?"

"Gone with the wind. Can you leave now?"

"Ye're colder than a fish."

"Ice, even. Can you leave now?"

"Touchy, aren't you. Just like _him_, but far more controlled– and far more dangerous."

Yuuki decided that the conversation had run its fifteen seconds' worth of logic. "Will you get to the point?"

And then Sho Tsuzuku brought his feet down from the table and straightened his seated posture to a proper, formal form. His darkly evil eyes glinted. The corners of his mouth curled down, his smirk turning into a faint smile of amusement that reminded Yuuki all too much of another person who annoyed her– killed her, even.

"Well, now," he said.

She perfectly understood what this was all about. The first minute or so of exchanges were trivialities. This, however, was now _business_. And nothing got Sho's attention quicker than opportunities to do business. Her verbal misstep was thus well-planned. Better to let the issue all out in the open now rather than delay the inevitable. You lost less that way if things went to worse.

Yuuki had to be very careful, though. Sheo had warned her of the dangers Sho presented. Even merely paying attention to the glib Author would ensure damnation for the victim. It was best to watch her words and take her time considering all the possible implications raised by the fast-talking Sho. The man was a _lawyer,_ after all. And he was a _businessman_, too, a nasty combo. Yuuki had no interest in giving away _The World Within And Without_ away by accident. And even then, despite all her caution, she just might make a mistake she would regret– and which Sho would take advantage in any way.

You see, when Sho Tsuzuku appeared, one must expect the unexpected. And the unexpected was always unpleasant.

"Well, now." Sho talked differently now. Like a proper businessman trolling his hapless client, he was setting the pace of this discussion. "Since you so ask me–"

"I suppose Sylphe let you in?" Yuuki (not a hapless client and not interested in being manipulated in any way) interrupted.

"You're a very smart girl."

"What is it with that woman?" Her question's exasperation was slightly honest but mostly faked. "She promises to shield this World from enemies, and then she lets _you_ inside. Some Handmaiden she is."

"She has her reasons."

"And just what are your reasons for being here?"

"I was about to say it when you so rudely interrupted me."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Her voice was beginning to drip with sarcasm. "Go on."

Sho's smirk returned. "As I was saying, I have business reasons for coming here."

"Sorry. Trade between this World and extra-dimensional outsiders like you (_and especially you_, Yuuki left unsaid) is forbidden by law. So forget about buying real estate here. It isn't allowed."

"Buying? Who said I was planning to buy anything?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. You mean swindling, of course."

"If you would put it so coarsely: No. I do not swindle people." It seemed a source of pride to him, the way he said it. "People willingly _agree_ to turn their property over to me for the price I offer them."

His knowing smile tempted Yuuki to erase it from his face. But she knew he was intentionally provoking her. She resisted it with thoughts of her and Loki off on a remote beach, away from the World and Sho. But the memory and trust of one person brought her back to focus on reality.

"Whatever. So, Sho," she asked with distant contempt, "Just what brings you here to the disastrous wedding capital of the fan fiction world? If it isn't to buy or sell anything, why are you here?"

"Done interrupting me? All right, I'll tell you." His hunch became more pronounced and arrogant. Sho smiled.

"Four."

**  
**For a long while, Four gazed at the placid blackness of the Doors. This was the last place where he had been seen. Her creator, the man who gave her both of her lives, her obsession and justification. Sheo Darren. He had left the World Within for that Without, and never returned.

No one, not even her dearest sister –one of only two people she loved like she did no one else–, knew.

She had tried. She had tried to enter it many times before. Each time, she was rebuffed. Each time, she swore to break through when next she tried. Yet despite her considerable power, despite the apparent appearance of the Doors as mere water, Four had never made it past the mirror-sheen surface. She had never gone into the darkness that lay within, kept without as she was. Even from where she was, she could feel him, his presence within. But she never made it to him.

Finally, painfully, she reluctantly surrendered. It was a hammer blow to one with pride such as her, pride and an unflagging dedication to the man who made this World and all within– such as herself. But she had suborned her conceit to the practicalities of real life. What had been made to keep her out would do so until it was the right time for her. Instead, she chose another way to call upon the being that most assuredly lay within.

_If Mohammed would not come to the mountain…_

_He_ was why she did all of this. Four did this all for him. Sheo. She committed all his crimes in his name, so that he would come and correct her sins, doting father to prodigal daughter that they were. For Four was his daughter. She was his creation. She longed for him, for his love, for his presence. She loved him so, and wanted him back so.

And even if it took forever and she had to fight against everyone –even her sister, even Sheo himself– she would do that, if only there was the faintest of chance that her Sheo would return to her at last.

Then Four could die happy in his arms.

But today was not one for struggling against unfair, unkind Fate.

Today was a day of commemoration.

Today was for Sheo Darren.

**  
**"Four."

Yuuki's eyebrows narrowed.

Just a bit, mind. Then:

"So?"

"So?" he quoted.

"What about her?"

"What about her? What about her?" Sho was enjoying this. "Why, Yuuki, I am merely expressing interest in such a dangerous wild card's continued presence in your World. You can even say I am _worried_ about her, if you like."

Yuuki dismissed the matter with a shrug. "Your fears are misplaced– if they exist at all," she added as a thorny afterthought. "There is nothing to worry about Four if I were you. She's bound to this World. She can't get in your schemes' way."

"But it is not my World that she is working me up about, Yuuki." He gesticulated to her with his open hands in an affected sign of concern. "It is about _yours_. I am thinking of _you_, your _friends_, your _family,_ and of your _World_– of _Sheo's_ World, even. I am considering your absolute refusal to do anything serious about the threat she poses to you as _unsettling_."

"Threat? You overestimate Four."

"And you underestimate her." Sho then began enumerating. "She has power equal to yours. She has Darkness for an ally. She has attacked people close to you and Sheo. Most of all, she claims to be doing all this for my dear friend–"

That was when Yuuki lost her cool. "Sheo isn't your friend," she snapped, "So if you please, don't refer to him that way."

"And so you finally say his name out loud. It's about time you did." Pausing, Sho then posed: "Who is she?"

That Girl glared at him.

"Tell me, Yuuki. Who is Four? You know her, don't you? Who she really is? Is her name really Four Murasame? Or is it something else, something like–"

"Don't you even think of it," she warned icily.

"My apologies if it infuriates you." Of course he meant it. Not his apologies, but his infuriation of Yuuki. "Now, shall we proceed to other matters of my business?"

The door to the office clicked open.

Sheo Darren walked in.

But of course he wasn't Sheo Darren. Sheo was absent from his World. This young man was his doppelganger in _The World Within And Without_. This 'Sheo' was the person who carried Reiya to her room earlier. He was Yuuki and Loki's third companion of the previous chapter. Tonight he was sporting a goofy smile at the thought of burdening his creator with one of her pet peeves. There was a thick bundle of documents in his arms.

"Oh, Yuuki-_san_, Loki-_kun,_ you're still awake and dressed. That's a good thing."

Sho rose from his seat very slowly, so as not to attract the newcomer's attention.

"Here's some new paperwork for you, Yuuki-_san_. I think they can wait for morning, though." That was when 'Sheo' noticed the Author. "Oh, who is this?"

He didn't recognize Sho or see the alarmed Yuuki's warning glance, not immediately–

"How convenient," Sho murmured. Already standing up, the Author took out something from his suit's lapels. Loki's eyes went wide when he saw what it was.

It was a gun, the same one from the D.C. universe that Batman and Catwoman chased after, the gun that never missed its mark.

"Rheo!"

–but then it was too late for any warning.

Sho aimed, said, "Cheers," and fired.

'Sheo' blurred. Rather, a part of him did so. His right hand caught the bullet heading his way, picked it out of the air as gently as if it was a slow-moving curveball. He pinched it between his thumb and index finger and stared at it. The smile on his face vanished, replaced by a remotely focused look directed at the man who had just tried to kill him.

The room seemed to wrinkle. Sho felt a very familiar power stir. No; make it _two_ powers. Or rather, two _sources_ of the _same_ power. The Will And The Word. Wielded by Yuuki, of course, already squarely in front of 'Sheo', her blue eyes aflame, the Author Assistant who bore her creator's might.

But it was also wielded by this fake 'Sheo'. The one Yuuki called Rheo. This must be the simulacrum named Rheo Farren, the one who pretended to be Sheo Darren. How interesting. Sho smirked.

"A half-Gear with an independent will, shaped in the likeness of Sheo, eh? And one that wields The Will And The Word, too. You are very impressive, Yuuki. But why deceive your friends about Sheo's presence when he is really elsewhere?"

There was no pretense of friendliness or uncaring in Yuuki anymore. She was very overtly hostile to the villain before her. So was Loki, in fact. Only Rheo kept his cool.

"Get out," growled That Girl.

"I'm not yet done here."

"How did you know I was not Sheo?" softly asked Rheo, curious to know how his disguise had been revealed.

"Easy. First off, the real Sheo would never have been able to dodge or block my shot. He'd never see it coming, the trusting idiot. But you did. Second, you referred to your creator –I assume Yuuki made you, since you are a Gear– as Yuuki-_san._ Sheo uses the suffix –_chan_ for her; she's his daughter, remember? Finally," said Sho with a distinct pride and arrogance that was his own, "The real Sheo is working for me."

"Go to hell!" snarled Yuuki.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, not right now. Sony has already bought Hell. My agents are still bargaining for a share in _that_ operation."

"You know what I mean, you bastard!" That Girl was positively angry now, her blue eyes taking on a white light of fury. "Get right the damn hell out of our World! Now!"

Bowing in mock extravagance, Sho vacated the seat –he'd thought it too small for him, but appearances mattered– and walked past the fuming Yuuki, who didn't deign to even glare daggers at his departing back, so furious was she. Rheo and Loki warily watched the Author stop at the door.

"By the way," Sho noted as an afterthought, "Sheo sends his regards."

It was amazing, how mention of her father had such a powerful a calming effect on Yuuki. One moment, she was positively ready to explode. But at hearing about Sheo –and Sho here did not take his fellow Author's name in vain for once, as he oft did–, all the roiling fury within That Girl disappeared, to be replaced by a quiet calm that was almost serene.

"How is he?" she finally asked.

"He's fine, considering his position right now." Sho seemed to find that particular comment funny for some reason of his own. "But don't worry. He's coping pretty well nowadays. Or should I say, _she_?" He laughed. "He's even picking up a few new girls, I believe. Like that adorably psychotic German sorceress with the reincarnating berserker as her servant –Ilyafiel; that was her name, yes– and that Saya. _The_ second's a demoness masquerading as a little girl. You know: Loli; sundress; cutesy. The usual things Sheo fawns on."

"Good. Tell him–" She searched her mind for appropriated words. "Tell him that we're okay here, me and Four both. And that we all miss him and love."

"Ah. And you, Yuuki? Anything you wish to tell _me_?"

For a long moment, she kept her eyes closed and sealed her lips, no response whatsoever. All the while, her mind dwelt upon happier thoughts, memories. Then she turned around, regarded Sho with just a modicum of respect, and said in a poisonously sweet way:

"Personally, I think you are an arrogant, ungrateful son of a bitch on a permanent power trip."

Sho laughed at her opinion. "Excellent! Accurate in all respects!" His eyes then flickered dangerously as his laughter died away. "But I warn you not to press it. My good humor can evaporate at any given instant."

"So can mine," Yuuki returned. "Just like earlier. Now, shoo."

With one last smirk, Sho stepped out the door and out of this World.

**  
**Very gently, Four set the bouquet upon the Doors of Night.

The packet floated for a while before slowly disappearing beneath the black surface, pulled down by invisible currents, the pool rippling gently, a welcome intrusion of its eternal façade into nothingness.

Again, silence reigned.

And then Four began to sing.

**  
**_Tatoeba__ dokomade modorebaii?__ Oshiete_

_Subete__ wa Itami wo tomonauhodo azayaka_

_  
Hontou wa Wakearumono nanteikara furikaeranakatta_

**_  
_**_Fall into a light sleep_

_Watashi__ ni michiru_

_I don't carry out_

_Yakusoku__ wa yagate_

_Itsukano__ Kagayaki suteta_

_Kaerenai__ asa no hikari noyou_

**  
_How far back should I have to go? Tell me._**

**_Everything is so painfully vivid._**

**  
_The truth is, we didn't understand each other_**

**_So I left and didn't look back_**

**_  
Fall into a light sleep_**

**_It encompasses my very being_**

**_I don't carry out_**

**_All of my promises_**

**_So long ago, I threw away my brightness_**

**_And like the light from the morning sun, it can never return_**

**  
**"You should not have lost your temper at him."

Sylphe was there. She was always there, of course, keeping a watchful eye on the confrontation. But only now had she revealed her physical presence and her thoughts to those she guided.

"He is just a man, Yuuki. Men have an ego to take care of. Even Sheo has one;he just wasn't very forthright with it. Sho's ego is just much larger than the usual, that's all."

"You forget that the swine also has a lot of power to assuage that ego."

"And you forget," the Handmaiden patiently reminded her, "That when he agreed to my terms of entry, Sho also lost almost all of his power while here in this world. He is no threat here."

That was true, Yuuki considered. The Forbidding was exactly as its name meant: Something that forbids. For _The World Within And Without_, it prevented any external threat from entering or endangering the World. In order to pass, an outsider had to submit to the restrictions imposed by the Handmaiden who maintained it. While within, the visitor could not threaten or hurt in any way both the residents of the World and the World itself.

"Besides," finished Sylpe, in the manner Miss Ciel tutored an unlucky _Tsukihime_gamer who got a bad game ending, "Sho has his own important part to fulfill in Sheo's plans. You have to learn to work with him."

"_Wakatta__, wakatta_." The vermilion-haired girl plopped herself on a reception sofa. "I know that already, Sylphe. But it doesn't mean I have to like him." Her eyes locked with the older woman as she added "Besides, if he's even a fraction as bad as Sheo makes him out to be, I don't think he'll be content to play a supporting role in this story for very long."

"At least he's not Samael, Yuuki-_san_," noted Rheo.

Yuuki snorted derisively at that. "You mean that idiot brother of his? If only we'd known back then about him, Rheo, maybe I didn't have to let myself get killed by that moron's _ki_ blast. Then maybe Sheo wouldn't have resurrected me and then leave me groping for straws here. Maybe he'd still be here with us to keep Four in hand and at home. That's a thought."

"That was my fault," Sylphe interceded. "I hadn't awakened soon enough to stop Samael or rouse sufficiently Sheo. If there is anyone to blame for your death," she sadly admitted, "It would be me, Sylphe Phenomena Eternal."

Yuuki shook her head.

"No. No one's to blame for that. Not you, not Sheo, not Sho or Samael, not myself. No one but Fate– and maybe it isn't a curse," she considered, "But a blessing in disguise. God works in mysterious ways, they say. Maybe this is one of those things."

A pregnant pause, then:

"So," Loki thought out loud, "Sheo is actually working for Sho?"

"For the foreseeable future: Unfortunately, yes." That Girl seemed slightly depressed and a bit rancorous of her 'father'. "That's why he's not here. He says it's very important to us, so important that he has to leave us and play overseas contract worker in the Promised Porn Shop flowing with _hentai_ and greenbacks."

"Yuuki…"

"I'm sorry." She meant it, didn't she? At least, Yuuki felt like she did. "I'm just tired. That's all."

"Then you'd all better rest," advised Sylphe. "I can keep things in hand by myself, if need be. Besides, you have Mai's wedding to attend. You need your strength."

Rheo and Loki dispersed at once. Yuuki, however, lingered a while longer.

"Sylphe-_san_?"

"Yes?"

"I'm really sorry for what I said earlier."

"I know. It's okay. You should unwind more, rather than keep"

"Thank you. By the way, is he okay?" Yuuki was quiet about it. "You do know who I mean, right?"

The Handmaiden smiled knowingly. And no, the person they were talking about wasn't Sheo, and neither was it Four.

"Perfectly so. Four meant to say hello to Sheo, but I think it's just as good she did so for _him_."

That Girl nodded to herself. "Then we can rest easy for tonight, then." Yuuki left the office, then, while Sylphe caressed the picture of her Author and wondered how things would turn out for them all.

Outside the room was Loki, who gave Yuuki a well-deserved hug for all the trouble she went through every day for the people she loved. She returned it just as affectionately, nuzzling him and being nuzzled in return.

"Stay with me, Loki. I don't feel like being alone tonight."

"I will."

**  
**She stood there before the Doors, alone in body but with him she loved in spirit.

Behind her, Darkness materialized. She turned to her willing minion and nodded.

"Come along, Darkness-_kun_. It's time to go to the A Country."

_Farewell for now, Sheo. I'll see you once again soon enough. I promise to bring you back for good. I promise._

The girl who was Four Murasame –and who was much more– left.

**  
**They lay together in that bed for a long while, just staring at the ceiling and wondering about nothing in particular, holding hands and knowing that they would be okay together despite anything the World can throw at them.

"Yuuki?"

"Yes?"

"Who is Four?"

She sighed. For once, she relinquished her role as an Assistant. For once, she was just Yuuki, a girl who loved a boy named Loki.

"She's family, Loki. She's someone close to my heart– and to Sheo's…"

**  
**For a long time, the Doors of Night lay undisturbed, as alone as the girl who had just left it.

And then, it rippled once, and if anyone was there at that moment to gaze into its murky depths, they would have seen a human face register within, the face of a young man.

_"Thank you."_

**  
_Fall into a light sleep_**

**_It encompasses my very being_**

**_I don't carry out_**

**_All of my promises_**

**_So long ago, I threw away my brightness_**

**_And like the light from the morning sun, it can never return…_**


	21. Chobits Arc 01: Persocon Wars

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**  
Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**For new readers:** The setting is in the far future, 215X, from the game _Guilty Gear_.This is a sequel to the earlier _Guilty Gear_ fan fiction _The Wedding Night 2_ and had run parallel with Lone Wolf NEO's just recently finished story _Heart of the Melty Blood._ Check those two stories out for background information.

**  
Dedication: **To Person WMA (again): Thanks for redirecting my attention. And to Lone Wolf NEO: For creating pairings I can wreck with gleeful abandon. Now, on to the fun parts!

**  
Chobits Arc**

**Part One Of (hopefully, only) Three Parts**

**Persocon**** Wars**

**  
**Chipp Zanuff –hyper-frenetic ex-druggie speed-demon of a Japanese-wanna-be American ninja (we hope we got the order of adjectives right…); Ultimate Fan of Anything From The Legendary Land Of The Rising Sun; and currently the President of the A Country (formerly the United States of America)– groaned.

And finally, after nine chapters of Kanon Arcs and Interludes, _The World Within And Without _finally returns to its _Guilty Gear_ roots.

May we also mention that the opening is very familiar to all veteran readers?

We thought so.

It had been a very hectic day for Chipp, one to top off the frantic month just ended. Wave after wave of problems had inundated him and his nation in the previous weeks. The majority of and greatest trouble was caused by the self-labeled (and now destroyed) 'Iron Fuhrer', Robo Ky Mk II. The A Country's military and intelligence services were among the most actively engaged by the PWAB/Mk II offensives; Chipp and his wife themselves even went into battle several times. After the titanic Second Battle of Kiev –which saw the defeat of the Mk II army at the hands of Lone Wolf NEO, the Wolf Pack, the free-willed _Rurouni_Robo Ky and other assorted heroes– the A Country's efforts were redirected to hunting down the war's instigators. But nothing had come up so far. No trace of the PWAB or its agents had been discovered. It was a dead end, a rather troubling one.

But now that they were done smiting evil warriors, a new terror had arisen to challenge the President of the A Country, a most frightening and formidable evil.

It was time to 'throw down' on the dreaded bureaucratic by-product that was**–**

"**_PAPERWORK…"_**

**  
**Yuuki Darren –That Girl, basically a modified version of _Guilty Gear _character That Man but actually an Assistant and daughter to Sheo Darren, this story's Author– stirred uneasily from where she lay with boyfriend Loki. _Either Sho Tsuzuku was still lingering around in _TWWAW, she unhappily thought to herself in half-stupor, _or someone had just mentioned the evil word 'paperwork' in all caps, underlined, bold and italicized fonts._

Either way, it bid trouble for the unwary soul who spoke it with impunity…

(Oh, and one thing more: Yuuki and Loki didn't have sex. They just slept together in the same bed. They didn't sleep with each other. Yes, people, there _is_ a difference.)

**  
**Chipp was a fair-enough ninja. But considering his background and skills (or lack therewith), one could question the wisdom of him being the leader of one of the world's most powerful countries. He managed, but only with a lot of help from Yuuki, the ghosts of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and his wife.

Yes. You heard right. He had a wife.

To put up with all the hassles of being the First Lady of the President called for a woman who was excessively kind, extraordinarily patient, and very supporting.

Fortunately, Chipp's wife was all of the above.

Well, all of the above– _except_ the _woman_ part, that is…

Chii strode into the room. The eternally youthful Persocon was dressed in her usual Hibiya-hand-me-down clothes, but looked good in the old brown apron and gown. The flaxen mass of her hair were a pair of wings flanking an angelic visage, reaching down almost to the floor but not quite touching, tracing her path like the wakes of a passing ship. Even those odd bell-shaped objects she had for ears felt just right.

Chipp had always wondered what was in the minds of God, Fate or Sheo Darren (or maybe all of the three) that brought him and Chii together. The ninja was never personally close to Sheo. And since the latter's disappearance from his World, Chipp never had the chance to get the man's opinion. So he did the next best thing to asking the Author himself: He asked the Author's daughter.

That Girl had given him a long, level look. Then she smiled faintly and chuckled:

"Go ask Lone Wolf. **_He_ **paired **_you_** up."

So Chipp promptly did so. He had found _that_ Author in a rather uncomfortable bind, what with Lone Wolf the subject of both voluptuous Mriya Falken's sexy advances and the glower of his jealously possessive girlfriend Takane Hibiki. After that little life-or-death situation had been resolved, Lone Wolf had been quite happy to forward his reason for putting Chipp and Chii together:

"Well, your names both started with _Chi_, so I thought it would be cute to pair you up!"

_So much for the great, glorious reputation of the Authors…_

But it was a nice thing to be married to Chii. There was something to the chaotic life Chipp led with his lovely Persocon that changed a person for the better– not discounting the hilarious series of misadventures springing out of the unlikeliest endeavors, such as buying underwear or trying to cook a palatable meal. Maybe it was Chii's special power, if she had any: The power to bring out the best in anyone. Chipp would certainly agree with that theory. His speed had gone up. His defense was up by 100 (a huge leap, especially considering that Chipp had almost **_no_** defense in the _Guilty Gear_ game.) Even his Japanese accent had benefited. Certainly he spoke better English now.

All in all, Chipp was really thankful having Chii as his wife.

"We have visitors today, Chipp."

"Really? Wow, that's great! Could you show them in, dear?"

Obediently, Chii went to the door and opened it. "Please come in," she told the guests.

"_Ohayou__"_ began the man.

"_Urusai__,"_ snapped the woman.

The thing that could be said about the Mito couple was that they complemented each other very well. 'Man of the house' Anji was an easygoing politician who cared for looks and show, but was more than meets the eye – and now First Representative of the reconstituted Japanese people. His wife was his complete opposite. Though Baiken had mellowed with wedlock, pregnancy and motherhood, it did not mean she was now weak. It merely meant that she understood and enjoyed the softer things in life, like being a mother to her kids. The swordswoman still packed a wallop, though, especially when riled. It was just that it took more to rile her nowadays.

Put it this way: Anji was a friendly little yapping puppy dog. Baiken would be an old, quiet bulldog who feels too lazy to rip your head off– for now.

Opposites do not always repel, after all. Look at Sol Badguy and Kagura: Grumpy old pedophilic prototype Gear and _genki_ kid with the power of Justice (and no, we do not mean Kim Kapwan). Can you see the vast gulf dividing them? But, more importantly, can you feel the great power of love that unites such an impossible pairing?

**  
**Somewhere else on _TWWAW _(acronym for this story)_…_

" Censored Author and Censored fan Censored fiction of his," grumbled the Guilty Gear in question before the _Fruit's Basket_ girl glomped him real good. Sol likes the attention, despite his grumbling. Really!

**  
**Back in the A Country:

"We brought the kids along. I thought they'd be happy to see their Uncle and Auntie," Anji suggested cheerily. (Chipp and Chii happened to be the godparents of the Mito kids. It was mainly because everyone else was smart enough to know what deathtrap they were being asked to walk into, and so refused.) "Come on in, children!" their father called.

Born in the first chapter of this story –for those who don't know or who have forgotten– the Mito twins were as unlikely a pair of fraternal siblings as, say, Bridget and Jack. Okay, maybe that was a wrong choice of comparison. Bridget and Jack _do_ look alike. At least, the concept of them was supposed to. Or was it that Bridget's twin was supposed to be a girl? We're not completely certain…

**  
**Somewhere unseen, Four Murasame (our story's antagonist, for those new readers) looks at the readers in a mildly patronizing way.

"Silly people, it isn't time for _that_ yet. In a couple more Arcs, perhaps, but not now."

She smiles faintly.

"Not yet…"

**  
**The younger Mito was a fourteen year-old girl who looked like a younger Baiken without the disfigurations. Her deep red hair was tied in a long topknot/ponytail reminiscent of the ancient _Shinsengumi_ fashion, so as not to get in the way of fights. It did not detract from her appearance, though, but instead amplified her strong yet appealing face. She was also well-endowed, a waspish waist and sexy figure clad in a scarlet kimono whose front she wore open like her mom– and we now have Baiken Version 2 before us. But this girl also inherited her father's clever brains and level-headed temperament. She was fierce in battle, like the whirlwind of blades that was her _oka__-san_. But she was also a thinking person who exhibited the outward peace and inner strength of her _oto__-san_. No one knew where she got her amethyst purple eyes, though. It and her looks combined made people –especially her dear old daddy Anji– wonder, "_And just _where_ is the cross-shaped scar, by the way?"_

The girl bowed in the proper Japanese manner. When she spoke, listeners were reminded of Takane Hibiki.

"_Watashi__ wa_ Seishino Kenji _desu_ _Yoroshiku__ onegaishimasu"_

Then she changed personalities in an instant, happily hugging Chii and then Chipp, grinning all the way.

"Hi, Auntie Chii! Hi, Uncle Chipp!" she fairly sang, her voice was so musical. "Recognize me?"

Chipp stared. His pupils grew wide. His mouth dropped open into a gape.

"Jii-_chan_?" he asked in disbelief of the girl who clung to him.

"Yup!" Mito Kenji –Jii-_chan_ to her uncle– was one very happy camper. "I knew it! You do recognize me!"

"Wow! Jii-_chan_, you're– you're–" Chipp searched his mind for a nice word to describe his sexy niece. "All grown up!" was the best he could come up with.

"Of course! And in a couple more years," sultrily confided Kenji, sprouting fox ears and _bouncing _while at it, "I'll be perfectly legal…"

Baiken growled. Anji chuckled. Chii was curious as to how Kenji could summon the infamous jiggle so easily (the answer being that the latter was loaded; Chii was not). And Chipp was on the verge of a nosebleed.

That was when a hand grabbed at Kenji's ponytail and yanked her away rather painfully.

_"Mattaku desu, imouto."_ The new entrée was all contemptuous sarcasm. "Will you stop flaunting yourself like some cheap whore?"

It was the elder of the Mito twins. As earlier noted, he and his younger sister were different as day and night. The boy was also rather unlike his parents. Tall for his age, taller than his 'twin' and his dad and even Chipp by at least half a head, his lanky frame and long limbs were full of sinuous strength. His black hair was a sleekly unruly hedgehog not unlike Chipp's own, only spikier and longer. In contrast, his clothes consisted of really tight-looking pants and a long-sleeved polo shirt that highlighted his lean, mean, sex machine body. A small pair of dark amethyst spectacles resting upon his sharp Grecian nose partially obscured his eerie blue eyes. His smile was all arrogant, as if to boast he could take on the whole world.

"And who is this?" Chipp thought to ask Baiken. "My other godchild?"

"You don't know who I am, do you?" Sneering in a way reminiscent of Sho Tsuzuku (the latter being someone _you_ do _not_ want to know), the boy propped his eyeglasses up his nose with his free hand's fore and index fingers. "Well, then, **_Uncle_**Chipp let me introduce myself–"

Were those evil snake-eyes that flashed behind the spectacles? We could swear there were.

**"_Zettai__… mutteki… _****MITO**** BAN-_SAMA!_"**

Translation:

**_"Mighty… invincible… Lord Mito Ban!"_**

Fans may now mob the (still-absent) Author who committed this huge travesty against that particular _yaoi-_riffic _anime_. That is, you may **_try_** to do so, if you think you can survive five minutes into the venal dominion called Sho Town.

(Aside, selfsame Sho Tsuzuku smirks.)

Oh, and that was also when Kenji bopped her crowing twin with a _tessen_.

"Ow!" Ban furiously rubbed the sore spot on his head. "What the hell was that for?"

"_That_ was for being such a copycat idiot, _onii__-san. _Honestly," Kenji confided in disdain, "You and 'Boy Tazer' –that kid of Nikaido's– sure find lot of weird ways to spend your time, like chasing after national treasures–

"Stuuuuupid sisssster!" The way Ban scornfully spat those last words reminded Chipp of an old cartoon with a dumpy redhead scientific genius as its star. Or maybe Cobra Commander, from the old GI Joe cartoon. "We are not Nicholas Cage! We are retrieval specialists with a 100 success rate! Do not compare us to the alliance of Walt Disney and Jerry Bruckenheimer, who make big explosions that _don't_ kill _anybody_!"

"Oh, really? But your team name is _so_ lame! As in, who'd be interested in receiving the help of a duo who call themselves _Getbackers_?"

"You have such nerve to say that, my stuuuuupid sisssster, but what do you call the way you carry yourself around like a cheap slut?"

"Don't call me a slut, you sleazy snake!"

"I'll call anyone I rightfully know to be a slut as a slut, and there's nothing you can do to stop me! Slut!" Ban added for extra effect.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Then go eat a snake!"

While the siblings were quarreling, Chipp asked Baiken: "Why are the kids so big now? The last time I saw them was, like, just a few months ago, and they were still cute babies back then."

"You didn't know?" Baiken snorted. "In a fan fiction where the laws of reality are dictated by Sheo Darren, Time is specifically manipulated for specific people and places. People whom the Author wants to remain young –like Hoshino Ruri, Lumiere, Ukiya Ayane and all those loli-licious lovelies living in there–" She pointed to the Death Star in the sky for emphasis, "–Stay young. People who are meant to be very powerful because of their old age –like Geese Howard and Akuma– stay old. And for plot purposes, physical and physiological growth is accelerated or decelerated as needed."

"To put it in Harrier-_san_'s terminology," elaborated Anji, "They're fourteen years old in physical appearance, but physiologically one-year old babies."

**  
**At the entrance to a pristine beach resort, Justine Harrier sneezed.

"Lone Wolf Law getting to you?" Asamiya Athena asked.

"Yep. But c'mon! The beach awaits us!"

"Right…"

Was that a shadow of sadness that passed over the Japanese girl's eyes? But the intent Justine didn't notice.

**  
**And outside the White House:

Four smiled.

"Now: Begin."

**  
**"Ooh! Yummy!"

"Indeed, Sumomo."

Robo-Ky was traveling through Washington, D.C. with his close companion Sumomo. There were lots of historical and national landmarks that attracted tons of tourists every year. The free-willed mechanical swordsman and his 'pocket' Persocon buddy were currently just outside the White House grounds, enjoying real American grilled hot dogs.

Then they heard the explosion.

**  
**Suddenly, Chipp felt his hackles rising on end. He felt an approaching danger, a very dark and imminent danger! It was akin to Spider-Sense, this early warning system of his. Being unimaginative with names, Chipp called it 'Ninja-Sense'. (If he had thought about if further, he might have picked 'Genome Sense', after those disposable flunkies in the _Metal Gear Solid_ games with the fifteen second attention and memory spans.)

"Get down!"

Everyone had also sensed it; everyone except Chii– but Chipp tackled his naïve wife and covered her with his own body, as an entire wall of the Oval office exploded inward.

"Everyone okay?" Anji asked after the dust had settled.

"Yeah," Baiken growled back. "In times like this, Fortress Block sure is useful."

"Aw! I got dust on my brand new kimono!" wailed Kenji. (And I bought it just yesterday!)

"Who gives a dumb (Censored) about your (Censored) kimono?" Ban snapped at his sister.

"My admirers do! And before you go on, _nii-chan_, I'll have you know that you've just brought the wrath of The Ultimate Bad-Ass upon you!"

"(Censored) him! And (Censored) you!"

"Ewww! Incest! _Angel Sanctuary!_ Yuck!"

"Oh, for the love of Sheo Darren!" Baiken snapped. "Both of you! Shut up!"

As for Chipp:

"Chii! Are you okay?"

"_Hai_ Chii is okay, thanks to Chipp."

Chipp sighed. "That's nice to know." Then he realized his current position placed him sprawled right over the prone Chii, a tad too close for decency but certainly very comfy. The ninja President blushed, even as Ban hooted at the scene and Kenji smacked her brother again.

All of that was forgotten as a very familiar voice resounded inside the wrecked Oval Office.

"Prepare to meet your doom, Chipp Zanuff. Your long-delayed demise has come at last."

"Eh?" Then he did a double-take. "Dark Chii!"

It was, indeed, the 'evil' half of the angelic Chobits: Dark Chii, the malevolent being who wished to destroy Chipp for reasons unknown save to herself. But she wasn't alone. Flanking her were three girls. The first was dressed in a sailor _fuku_ and had cat ears sticking out of her pink hair. The second girl had long sky blue hair and rather blank-looking red eyes, and wore a cross of cybernetic exoskeleton armor and body-hugging swimsuit. The third girl –an obviously cybernetic housemaid with pink hair– looked suspiciously like a robot version of Hisui from _Tsukihime_.

One more thing: Dark Chii was radiating unbelievable energy, far more than when Chipp had last encountered her.

_This is not good_, the ninja thought.

"Who the hell are you?"

Dark Chii did not smile. She did not need to. She merely said:

"We are the Post-War Administration Bureau's special Task Force _Meka-Hanagumi_, dispatched here to destroy the A Country's leadership in accordance to–"

"–the next phase of your master's plan to take over the world, is that so?" finished Ban with a mocking overtone. "_Che_, but you villains never change your script's basic format now, do you?"

"There _is_ a difference, boy. In addition to eliminating the President, we have been tasked to capture Japanese specimens for special experimentation on their _ki_-rich blood. We have scheduled our attack to coincide with your visit." Dark Chii might have been amused. "Your family's _ki_ in general and yours in particular are very potent, almost as potent as that Japanese air pirate girl. Consider it a dubious honor that PWAB believes you are enough of a threat and a potential resource to merit trouble."

Ban glowered. "Don't call me boy, you bi–"

Kenji elbowed him. "Don't."

"–Fine: Female dog, it is!"

Baiken and Anji put themselves squarely in front of their kids. "Never thought we'd get into trouble on what is supposed to be a happy event," the latter began.

"Anji?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Shut up and just fight."

"Yes, dear."

Chii had also gotten up. "Chii won't let Dark Chii hurt Chipp. Chii will protect Chipp with her life."

"If you so wish." Her dark half was very sanguine about the matter. "**Nuku-Nuku** (_All-Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku-Nuku)_; **Kosmos** (_Xenosaga)_; **Meka Hisu **(_Melty Blood)_."

At once the three robot girls accompanying her stood at attention.

"_HAII."_

"Capture the Japanese specimens. Use any force necessary, but keep them alive and in one piece."

"_HAII!"_

"Out to the lawn, kids!" ordered Anji. "No sense in smashing up Uncle Chipp's office a lot more than necessary!"

As one, the Mito family jumped through the hole in the wall. The _Meka-Hanagumi_ followed.

"As for you…" Dark Chii turned to Chipp and Chii. "I'll deal with you personally."

Chii was not afraid. "Chii won't let Chipp get hurt."

"I know," returned the somewhat nervous Chipp. "But Dark Chii is more powerful than before. I– _we_ might have trouble fighting her…"

"Chii believes in Chipp and Chii's own power. Chii knows Chipp and Chii's power without equal– if Chipp and Chii believe."

And somehow, that made Chipp feel a lot better.

A feeling, however, that was brief, considering what Dark Chii did next.

Wired access jacks leapt out of the evil Chobits' ears. They were like medusa coils, the way they blurred forward with unbelievable speed, seeking and plugging into their opposite number's own access ports. The attack was so sudden that Chii did not have time to summon her own. Neither was Chipp able to react, and he was basically the local Flash in terms of speed.

"What?" Chii was confused. "What is this?"

"Finally," Dark Chii murmured, her eyes alight, the smile on her face dark and yet soft. "At last, we will be one again…"

Chii's eyes went blank. She was awash in a blue-white nimbus, and so was Dark Chii. The two Persocons floated towards each other.

"No! Chii!"

Chipp hurled himself at his wife. The nimbus threw him back with a blast of energy. Stunned, he could only watch helplessly as Chii and Dark Chii's hands touched, and then the light swallowed up both Chobits in a glorious blaze.

"No!"

**  
**Hotly pursued by the _Meka__ Hanagumi,_ the Mito family raced to find a suitable battleground. They found it– and more.

"Robo Ky-_san_!"

"Mister Anji! What is happening?"

"A bunch of robot girls are chasing us! They want to capture us!"

"What?"

"Yeah! They said that the PWAB wants to get us and use our blood for experiments!"

Among the principles that Robo Ky valued immensely was freedom. He could not stand the thought of people being imprisoned against their will. It went against his nature of being the first free-willed unit of his kind. He was also staunchly opposed to the organization that created him, hating the way those evil men wished to use him and his brethren as mindless weapons of war. Those and the principles of his fighting art –the legendary _Hiten__ Mitsurugi Ryu–_ would not countenance the

"Do not worry, Anji-_san_. I will help you, me and Sumomo both."

"Great!" Then the man gulped. "Uh, oh, here they come."

Nuku-Nuku, Kosmos and Meka Hisui appeared.

"We are the _Meka__ Hanagumi._ Lower your weapons and surrender yourselves. Your blood will be incorporated into our masters' experimentation. Your power will be adapted to serve our masters. Resistance is futile."

"And now we're ripping off _Star Trek_ as well?" Anji grimaced.

Ban had a different opinion. "Assimilate this!" He prepared to attack–

Baiken kicked him from behind.

"Ow! Mom! What was that for?"

"Saddle down, cowboy. We aren't going to win this through brawling."

"I'm not a brawler! I'm the Genius of Battle!"

"Yeah, yeah, and I'm the reincarnation of a goddess."

"Mom, that was Asamiya Athena," Kenji pointed out.

"Why did I ever conceive these kids?" Baiken then glanced at Anji. "Oh, right. It's his fault."

"Me?"

Now Robo Ky took command of the situation. "Split up, everyone. It's five to three in our favor, so we can double-team two of them. Miss Baiken–"

"It's Missus."

"My apologies. Missus Baiken, you and Mister Anji will handle the cat-girl."

"Fine by us!" With a graceful motion of his forearms, Anji produced a pair of sturdy metal fighting fans: The magical weapon, part of the Outrage Set meant to defend mankind against the rampaging Gears. Simultaneously, Baiken was tightening the sashes that held her two sheathed katana (originally she fought with just one, but ever since she regained her other arm, she had been practicing with two) in place. Nuku-Nuku mewed in anticipation.

"Next," Robo Ky said, turning to Ban and Kenji "You two kids–"

"My name is Kenji, but you can call me Jii-_chan_."

"And I'm Mito Ban-_sama_!"

"Kenji and Ban, right. I will entrust the blue-haired girl to you two."

"Roger!" both teens exclaimed.

"And I," Robo Ky finally finished, Thunder Seal Mk II in hand, "Will fight the one that resembles Miss Hisui."

"NEW TARGET SIGHTED," droned the robot maid in much the same way that Robo Ky's old speech pattern worked. "DESTRUCTION OF NEWCOMER IS A MUST."

"Everyone got your target priorities right?" Robo Ky settled into his _battoujitsu_pose. Then let's go!"

**Heaven Or Hell: Let's Rock!**

**  
**Chipp had been unlucky enough to be directly looking at ground zero when the explosion of light encompassed the whole room. He was still dazed from the noiseless blast, but his flash blindness was wearing off. The first thing he realized was that the Oval Office was dead quiet. No, wait; there was that odd humming sound that filled the room. And Chipp could barely discern the figure floating before him at about ten paces– ah, yes, his eyesight was returning to normal and–

Chipp's heart practically stopped beating.

Chii stood before him.

Or rather, the being that stood before him looked like Chii, still wore her clothing. But when she opened her eyes, it was plain to see that the unfriendliness and the confidence in them was entirely her evil half: Freya, named after the Norse goddess of beauty, the persona known as Dark Chii.

Those darkly blank eyes focused on Chipp, then narrowed.

"Prepare to be destroyed."

**  
**.

**  
_To Be Continued…_**


	22. Chobits Arc 02: Super Robo Ky Wars

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**  
Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**  
Chobits Arc**

**Part Two Of Three Parts**

**Super Robo-Ky Wars**

**  
.**

**  
**Outside the White House:

"Nii-san!"

"Shut up!"

Despite their being fraternal twins, there existed no link of minds between Ban and Kenji. The Mito siblings were as different from each other as hydrogen and oxygen were– and just as volatile, if hurriedly brought together in the wrong way and time. They almost never agreed. They fought over the simplest of things. Each was the pet peeve of the other. They were, in essence, the typical brother-sister tag team. Then again, their spats were more like Dexter and Mandark, rather than Dexter and Deedee.

Thankfully, Kosmos had not attempted to take advantage of the twins' bickering. She merely stood there and watched. Watched as Ban taunted Kenji and Kenji flicked her _tessen_ at Ban. They were arguing as to who should go first. Ban claimed that as the eldest, he had first crack. Kenji denounced that as sexism, chauvinism and masochism. Her brother retorted that feminism was out of the vogue. She shook her _tessen_ at him as a rejoinder. All the while, Kosmos watched and waited.

Finally, Ban had had enough of his sister and his inactivity. "Feh! The unequalled Master of Battle, Mito Ban-_sama_, is the one to vanquish this mechanical monstrosity!"

So saying, he leapt at Kosmos, a blur of white and black, his balled right fist set to deliver a mighty blow for the fame and coolness worthy of his ego's greatness–

"Rah!"

–and missed.

"Eh?"

His fist was placed exactly where Kosmos' forehead was– _one second ago_, that is. The robot girl was now five feet from his right. She had completely dodged his attack via teleportation.

Ban's smirk actually remained. "This might be a worthwhile challenge," he conceded.

This was just a temporary setback. He knew he was fast and strong. All he had to do was up the ante. He attacked again.

But Kosmos was faster. All Ban caught up with was the dissipating after-images she left in her wake. And then only barely, since the illusionary Kosmos was all but gone when he realized too late that he was attacking a mirage. It went on for a half-dozen 'exchanges', fifteen seconds worth of 'battle'. By the end of it, Ban was no longer smirking. He was grimacing. He was getting annoyed. And Kenji's partisan commentary wasn't helping.

"What's wrong, _nii__-san_? Bit off more than you can chew?"

But the elder Mito wasn't called the Genius of Battle for nothing. The smirk suddenly returned to its rightful place. In the quarter of a minute that was this fight, Ban had already formulated a plan. His next blow would land right where the money was.

"Here I come!"

Again, Ban attacked. Again, Kosmos didn't seem to move at all. This time, though, Kenji didn't jeer. She knew what her brother was up to– and agreed it was as good a plan as any.

"Hah!"

That was Ban. He aimed himself not at the visible Kosmos, but at an apparently empty spot of ground. "That won't work this time!"

Kosmos vanished– and then materialized in the exact same spot that Ban had predicted she would appear. The latter's crow of triumph resounded.

"Gotcha!"

And then Kosmos summoned a force field.

"Oh, shi–"

Ban hit the shield straight on. His blow –and his self– bounced off it. Hard. Painfully so.

Kenji groaned. Sibling rivalry or not, she had expected her brother's ploy to work.

_This might be harder than we thought it would be…._

Ban got up, dusted his shoulders, spat aside and glared daggers. He wasn't even scratched that much. The only part of him that got hurt was his pride. Thing was, Ban's ego was such that a blow to his dignity was one of the few things that could really hurt him.

"Okay, bitch! That's it! I'll just have to pretend that you're a man!"

Then his eyes took in the smooth sculpt of Kosmos' sexily long blue hair, alluringly mysterious ruby eyes, perfect 36-24-36 hourglass body, pale complexion and pretty face. He then added retrospectively (in a softer, distracted and approving tone):

"A very… beautiful man… with nice boobs and a killer figure..."

"Oh, for crying out loud…"

That was Kenji. She hadn't been idle in the past minute. Aside from ribbing her brother's foibles, she had also been preparing herself. Part of the reason she allowed Ban to go first was that she required time to get ready. She'd changed her fancy _kimono_ into a simpler one suited for battle, tightened her ponytail's tie-ins, and strapped on forearm protectors. In her hand was a monster _nodachi_ that was perhaps five feet in length.

Questions resound. How had Kenji had carried such a huge sword and the extra stuff within her flimsy _kimono_? How could she have concealed it from the scanning eyes of the Secret Service and by the White House's detection machines? We do not know. What we do know is that the Muramasa she bore was a masterpiece of a killing weapon dating back to the violent years before the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate. That, and Kenji now was ready to do some serious ass-kicking.

Kosmos observed her new opponent's weapon. In that single second, she had analyzed the weapon and concluded it was formidable. She pronounced:

"R-BLADE."

Arming the robotic girl now was what looked to be a cross between a jousting lance and a broadsword. Kosmos' stance was a simple one; obviously she wasn't any _Hitokiri__ Battousai_ or Seishino/Mito Baiken. But the R-Blade was more than enough to tip the scales in her favor. Fearsome in its own right as a weapon, it also radiated immense power that easily surpassed either of the Mito siblings' own considerable _ki_.

"Just great," grumbled the disgruntled Ban. "Thanks a lot, Sheo (wherever you are). You really want your created characters to die horrid deaths, now, do you?"

Undaunted, Kenji closed her eyes and settled into her own _battoujitsu_ pose. Her breathing was calm, reflecting the focused gathering of her inner strength. Though not equal to true Seed Mode, it followed the same lines of hyperawareness.

"_Nii__-san_?" she quietly asked.

"Yeah?"

"You know what to do."

Ban grinned. "Yeah, I do."

"Good."

He uttered an obscure wiccan incantation, calling upon a being as old as Time. As dark words flowed from his lips, Ban felt a cold, familiar, serpentine length coiling around him: Armor and empowerment and nightmare monster all in one. It was Aesculapia, the awesome world snake of the cosmos.

"Ready when you are," he announced.

Kenji's eyes snapped open. The Muramasa was out of its sheath before the instant was realized.

Kosmos may have been faster than Ban. She was certainly faster than Kenji. She was assuredly more powerful than the two combined. But she lacked the precision accuracy and skill that was the hallmark of true, trained martial artists. And unlikely as they seemed to be, the Mito twins were exactly that: Real martial artists.

The R-Blade stopped the Muramasa cold. But that was Kenji's purpose. Occupy the enemy's defense. Lock her down. Open a path and opportunity for the final strike. Her attack was a distraction. Kenji was a diversion.

The real attacker was Ban. Occupied with his sister's diversionary blow, Kosmos' defenses were wide open. This was his opening. He was the hammer, his sister the anvil. Kosmos was caught between their smashing come-together.

He came from an oblique angle and with deadly intent. His left hand snapped out. The intent: To literally rip out Kosmos' very heart. His hand was a rattlesnake's darting head, an anaconda's 'battering ram' snout hurtling in at unbelievable speed. His fingers were poisonous fangs driven by mass and momentum. Each finger exerted forty kilograms of pressure. Five times eight totals to two hundred kilograms of bone-crushing power. All this was delivered at a velocity surpassing sound. The final equivalent force was akin to a battleship cannonade in terms of destructiveness.

It could only do one hit. But it was all right. Only one hit was needed.

One hit was enough.

"STRIKE! WITH POISONOUS FANGS!"

Ban called it:

"SNAKEBITE!"

The hand of death punched through Kosmos' faded energy shield, descended–

"Hah!"

–And landed right on her left breast.

Ban blinked, stared, gaped, squeezed a couple of times just to make sure it were real, and then madly cackled.

"Success! Oh, and they're so soft, too!"

Kenji smacked her _onii__-san_ hard and fast. She had to. It was a blow for all women in the world.

"WTF? What was that for?"

"That, _onii__-san_, was for your sheer _ecchi_ streak!"

"I had her beat with the Snakebite!"

"Snakebite? Sounds and looks more like 'Pervbite' to me!"

"Screw you!"

"Yuck! Will you stop your attempts at incest?"

Kosmos stared at the scene the siblings were raising. She looked at her ample chest, then again at the Mitos. Then she declared:

"Kosmos Beam."

There was a blinding light, followed by a massive explosion. When the smoke cleared, there was now a large crater in the White House lawns. At ground zero were Ban and Kenji.

Dead? Not quite.

Smoking? Yes, indeed. Leastways, Ban was. He had a Marlboro in his mouth. And while smoking, he was experiencing superhuman regeneration due to the fact that he was indulging a cig. It's a trait of all cool anime characters, like Genzo Sanzo and Hajime Saito who are also smokers. At their own risk, of course: Surgeon General's Warning…

Sizzling? If in anger: Yes. Especially Kenji: She loved that battle _kimono_ of hers that had been all but set on fire by the energy blast. That was one expensive costume!

"This bitch is getting to me," muttered Ban.

"She's annoying me, too," Kenji growled back.

"Damn right. Makes me want to get this fight over with already, if you know what I mean."

"Normally, I'd hate even just thinking of those attacks–"

"But?"

"–But today is an exception."

"Good."

Ban and Kenji got back on their feet. Their battle auras were glowing as angrily as they were.

"Time to go down, bitch!"

"Yeah!"

**(Music: _Aoi__ No Requiem_ from _Samurai Deeper Kyo)_**

Kenji held the Muramasa before her in such a way that the flat of the sword faced her direction. She then brushed her index and middle fingers down the whole length of its blade. Where her touch went, _ki_ enclosed the metal in brightness. Once done, the Muramasa seemed less a weapon of steel and more like one of pure white light.

"_Mumyou__ Jinpuu Ryuu Satsujin Ken,"_ she coolly declared. **Dark Wind Style Murdering Sword.** Kenji rested the blade upon her shoulder with a one-hand grip and quietly asked:

"Can you hear it? _Kaze__ no Koe_ _(The Voice of the Wind)?"_

**(Music: _Namida__ No Hurricane_ from_ Getbackers)_**

Ban was going through his own preparation. His left hand was glowing red, even as he formed it into a fist. There was a tattoo of a heart upon its back, its red span crossed with two swords. _"__Ore__ no kono te ga makaani moeru! Shoyro o tsukameto todoroki akebu!" _

**My hand! It burns! Urging me to seize the victory!**

Together, they launched their Secret Moves:

_"MIZUCHI!"_

_"BAKUNETSU!__ GOD FINGER!"_

**  
**Robo-Ky was in trouble.

The wandering warrior was a force to be reckoned with, what with his mastery of three different and effective battle styles: The lightning-empowered swordsmanship of Ky Kiske, of whom he was a robotic copy; the insane weaponry of his unique design and construction, which was his preferred mode of combat in _ Reload_; and the legendary _Hiten__ Mitsurugi Ryuu_, his current and most powerful art of fighting. Being a robot, he had unlimited endurance, robust armored defenses, booster rockets for flight, the whole technological kit and caboodle. He had been taught by Takane Hikki, trained under Hiko Seijuro, fought alongside the likes of Terry Bogard and Kokurabuji Hikki. He was a swordsman, one who defends the right. He was Robo Ky.

But right now, not one second of the battle was going for him.

Meka-Hisui was 0.nz0ring ('owning' or 'winning', for those who don't speak l33t). Basically she was a modified copy of the _ Reload_ Robo Ky. She had all the wacko weapons to prove it: Wrist missiles, electrical projectors, eye laser beams, 360 degree energy barriers, electromagnetic crossbow rail gun and wire lasso. And being an artificial creation herself, she matched his inherent capabilities.

Even so, Robo Ky should have won. He had more experience, more training. Hell, he was the damn good guy!

But every one of his attacks failed to hit. Clarification: His blows did _hit_. But they never scored home. Nothing directly touched Meka Hisui. An impenetrable barrier surrounded her– and it wasn't her own energy shield. All attacks at her were absorbed or reflected. The weird defense never faded or weakened.

"We can't even touch her!" Sumomo was frantic. "What should we do, Robo Ky?"

"I do not know–"

_"Kyaaa!__ Abunai!"_

Sumomo meant the huge explosive keg that Meka Hisui had produced from the depths of her skirt– and which was deposited at Robo Ky's feet. The timer was at 00:03… 00:02… 00:01… 00:00…

Robo Ky protectively threw his arms around Sumomo.

As fire engulfed him and the accompanying shockwave tossed him into the air, as his sensors registered the damage dealt by both explosion and crash, realization figuratively hit him with the same force the explosion literally did. Meka Hisui's red hair, housemaid costume and very name: Why hadn't he seen it before? It was obviously right before his very nose!

"Hisui…"

(Far away, the real Hisui sneezes.)

"Oh, no!" Sumomo realized it as well. "Meka Hisui looks like Hisui, whom Sheo likes! And this Dimension protects anything or anyone that Sheo likes! That's why we can't get near her at all!"

Robo Ky got back on his feet. His clothes were in tatters, his armor battered. Sparks flew from his damaged body. His power supply was at a critical level. He could barely keep from swaying due to battle damage. Yet he made as if to stagger forward and continue the fight.

"Robo Ky!" Sumomo was frightened.

"I must defeat her. Otherwise, she will go after Anji and his family."

"But you're in no condition to fight!"

"Then what? Are we just going to let her and the PWAB win?" demanded Robo Ky. "Are we going to let the others down? _Hiten__ Mitsurugi Ryuu_ and my own heart tell me that I cannot surrender nor lose!"

Sumomo shook her head. "No. No, you can't. But you can't go on fighting on your own, too. You cannot win alone."

He fell silent. It was the truth. He was in no condition to continue fighting. But he did not want to give up. Not yet, not while there was still the faintest of chances for them to win.

Then Sumomo softly added, in the words of a pink-haired Coordinator songstress:

"Neither **will** alone, nor **strength** alone…"

"Sumomo?"

"I am your guardian, your destined protector. Let me fight with you. Let me lend you my strength. For the sake of the others, for your sake and for my own, let me fight alongside you."

He understood. His heart accepted the wisdom of it all. Robo Ky nodded.

"Yes. We'll fight together."

"Then let's do it." Sumomo's eyes shone bright. "Let's fight together!"

**  
**_In ages long ago…_

_In uncharted reaches of the galaxy…_

_There is a legend._

_A legend of…_

**_SUPER ROBO KY!_**

(_Voltron_theme song starts playing.)

Robo Ky had the ability to disassemble and assemble himself at will. He did so now. Feet, shins, thighs, torso, chest, arms, hands and head soared into the air. Along them flew Sumomo. The entire metallic whirlwind tore into the sky, flying at dizzying speed in striking formation. Robo Ky barked out commands; each of his detached body parts followed to the letter.

"FORM FEET AND LEGS! FORM ARMS AND BODY!"

Finally, the armored panels of his chest cavity opened, revealing what looked like a cross between a cockpit and the core of a nuclear reactor. Sumomo flew into there and settled herself comfortably in that small space. She yelled:

"AND I'LL FORM THE HEART!"

His appearance underwent a massive change. Frayed Seikishidan robes vanished. His torso bulked up a bit. Arms and legs took on extra armor plating and other odd options. Great red bat wings sprung from his back. There were splashes of bright color here and there, like the scarlet V-shape on his chest and the golden crown on his forehead. When his revitalized internal power systems kicked in, his body took on blue, red and white Gundam hues. His thrusters vented out the excess of his massive energy as blades of blue flames. A massive sword was in his hand. Space thunder danced around him. Eyes alight and afire, he shone bright.

He was no longer Robo Ky.

In a great voice, his pose awe-inspiring, he bellowed to the world and all:

**"_OREWA_**_ **SUPAH ROBO KY! DEFENDER OF THE UNIVERSE!"**_

Within him, Sumomo yelled back:

"Let's go, Robo Ky! _Ikimasu_"

The tables had turned. Meka Hisui's attacks now had no effect on the mighty Super (pronounced as Supah) Robo Ky. If it wasn't deflected by Distortion Fields or AT Fields or I-Fields or pinpoint barriers, it literally bounced off impenetrable upgraded armor. And now Super Robo Ky was hitting back. Sheo Darren Effect notwithstanding, the sheer power and insanity of his attacks (+100 damage due to Hot Blood, ultra accurate due to 100 Hit) was telling.

The incessant barrage of firepower –Rocket Punches, Getta Drills, Broken Magnums, Daitarn Hammers, God Voices, Passion Slashes, Galaxy Bazookas, all the armament ever conceived in all super robot shows– practically swatted Meka Hisui. After getting simultaneously Voltes Whipped and Battle Baton-ned with a follow-up Lion Roar, she was practically on her knees.

"TARGET-IS-BEYOND-CURRENT-POWER-LEVELS. MEKA-HISUI-CANNOT-ALLOW-MISSION-TO-FAIL. REQUEST-ACTIVATION-OF-MURDER-DEATH-KILL-PROGRAM. REQUEST-GRANTED. LIFTING-ALL-RESTRICTIONS. ACTIVATE-INSTANT-KILL."

So saying, she went into Destroy Mode _and_ summoned a whole army of her kind. All of the Meka Hisui were glowing Instant Kill red.

But that didn't faze Super Robo Ky. Shouting (ever since Go Nagai, super robot show tradition demanded that super robot pilots always yell out their attacks and dialogue)** "IT'S TIME TO FINISH THIS!"**, he triggered his own Destroy Mode. His own army of fellow Robo Ky Mark I units arrived. All of them were in Super Robo and IK Modes as well.

Sumomo was enthusiastic, going along with the entire custom of 'yelling': "Time to finish this, Robo Ky- err, I mean, Super Robo Ky!"

**"INDEED,"** answered the Super Robot-empowered free-willed Robo Ky. **"INDEED IT ENDS HERE."**

**  
**"MEKA-HISUI-PARADE!"

**"SUPER ROBO-KY WARS!"**

**  
**Meka Hisui dove in from all directions of the compass, guided _kamikaze _missiles. In retaliation, all the Super Robo Ky opened up with their respective final attacks.

**"BREAST FIRE!"**

**"THUNDER BREAK!"**

**"FIRE BLASTER!"**

**"SPACE THUNDER!"**

**"SHIN GETTA SHINE!"**

**"SUN ATTACK!"**

**"GALAXY SLASH!"**

**"LASER SWORD!"**

**"CHOUDENJI DRILL!"**

**"FINAL BLOW!"**

**"FISSION MISSILE!"**

**"GOLDION HAMMER!"**

**"GEKIGAN FLARE!"**

In the middle of all the Super Robo Ky and the Meka Hisui duking it out, in the midst of all the explosions and flying projectiles and weaponry, the real Meka Hisui and the real Robo Ky came together for the decisive exchange.

**  
**Not far away:

"A flash of light–"

In between her words, both quoted and verified, Four Murasame smiled.

"–Another turn of the page…"

**  
**Anji and Baiken found their children sprawled on the grass. The twins were too exhausted to even bicker with each other on who scored the decisive blow. That spoke volumes.

Tagging along the couple was Nukunuku. The robot cat girl was all domesticated and under control. Anji and Baiken had earlier run into a local salesman who sold cat food. Genius that he was, Anji took advantage of the situation by buying a whole sack and presenting it to Nukunuku as a peace offering. His plan worked. Forgetting her programming, Nukunuku happily dined on the kitty munchies. It got to the point where Anji wanted to adopt her as the family pet. Baiken would have vetoed the idea, but Nukunuku gave her a pleading "kitty-cat eyes" look (feline version of the infamous "puppy-dog eyes"). That finished all opposition.

"What do you think I am? Millia Rage?"

(Far away, selfsame Russian assassin sneezes.)

Not ten feet from them was Kosmos. The robot girl was a mess, her dress ruined, her face covered in soot. She looked at herself and said:

"My external appearance had gone down by 50. Shion, I need cleaning."

Then she began taking off her clothes.

Ban grinned.

Kenji groaned.

Anji blushed.

Baiken face-palmed.

Nukunuku meowed.

Lone Wolf NEO (probably) cannot believe this turn of events.

And Sho Tsuzuku chuckles evilly.

**  
**When the light faded away at last, there was a figure standing strong and proud in the middle of all the devastation.

Super Robo Ky had won.

All of his added armor and equipment disappeared, returning him back to his normal mode. His chest panel opened to reveal the festive Sumomo.

"Aiieeeeeee! We did it! We did it! We beat Meka Hisui!"

"Indeed, we did, Sumomo. Indeed we did."

Then, a hand clamped onto Robo Ky's ankle.

Meka Hisui was a wreck. She couldn't remain operational for long. The pounding she had taken was far beyond her structural capacity's critical limits. But, somehow, through the electronic equivalent of sheer will power, she had crawled over to where Robo Ky stood and defied the totality of her defeat a moment longer.

"…CRITICAL-SYSTEM-FAILURE…" Her voice was laced with static, her words halting and somewhat confused. "MEKA-HISUI… MUST-NOT-FAIL… PROGRAMMED DIR… DIRECTIVES… MUST-NOT… MUST…"

The light left her eyes then.

She was dead.

For a long while, Robo Ky silently stared at the destroyed Meka Hisui. As he did so, he realized that they were alike: Duplicates of living people but without free will and self-purpose, created by PWAB as subservient weapons of war, tools to be selfishly used for dark purposes.

She was expendable.

And so was he.

_Once, a long time ago, I was…_

_But not now.__ No longer._

He knelt. As he picked her up, he noted that she did look a lot like Hisui. A robotic look-alike, to be sure, but wasn't he himself a mocking simulacrum of Ky Kiske?

Something tugged at him, then. It wasn't Sumomo. His unconscious attempt to shrug it off failed. The feeling lingered within him as he walked into the sunset, a quietened Sumomo on his shoulder, Meka Hisui in his arms.

Robo Ky wondered what it was.

**  
**.

**  
_To Be Continued…_**


	23. Chobits Arc 03: My One And Only One

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**  
Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities. Song featured is _I Believe In A Thing Called Love_ sung by The Darkness.

**  
Chobits Arc**

**Last Of Three Parts**

**  
My One and Only One**

**  
**_Chobits__ It is the name of the Persocom equipped with a unique program. Upon the discovery and selection of an entity who achieves a powerful emotional importance for the Persocom unit involved, this special program will be uploaded into all the Persocoms in the world. This program allows the recipient Persocoms to successfully copy, retain and simulate natural human awareness, sensations, and passions._

_In layman's terms, Persocoms will gain the power to develop feelings._

_In other words, they can become human._

**  
**Inside the White House:

"Prepare to be destroyed."

She was glorious. The girl hovered as if an angel– or a god. Gravity had no hold upon her. The material trappings of the world sullied her not. Riches, fame, honor and splendor meant nothing, were worth nothing. The black nimbus that swirled around her form shielded her from such inconsequential dalliances. The whip-like tendrils springing from what passed as her ears kept all who sought otherwise at bay– or slew them where they stood.

She could easily kill, and she could care more because she didn't, not at all.

Her eyes showed it. Those frighteningly blank eyes displayed not a whit of concern for the sake of anything or anyone– not even herself. They were inhuman, as artificial as her nature, coldly and callously so.

And so was she.

She was Chii.

She was Dark Chii.

She was Chobits.

Before her was a stunned American ninja President of the A-Country, a young man who could not comprehend the world-shaking change before him. Chipp Zanuff did not understand his situation or the girl floating before him. He would have related better to the news of the arrival of aliens from a distant star. (That particular event did happen a few weeks ago, though it had been held up by MIB and SDDF red tape.) But not this. Never this.

His beloved wife Chii had been turned to the Dark Side right before his very eyes, corrupted by her own sister.

He asked. He had to ask.

"Chii?"

The anti-light around Chii glowed. Her lens-less pupils narrowed.

_"Kieru_,_"_ she murmured. _"Kieru."_

_Disappear. Disappear._

The cables uncoiled and struck out. Elastic snake-like rapiers of deadly black darted forward at supersonic speed. The screeching shockwaves of their passing shattered what glass was left intact from the earlier exchanges. They sought out the heart of the astonished man before them.

They found only air and an afterimage.

The cables were fast. But Chipp was faster. The American ninja was the fastest man in the world of _Guilty Gear_. Known for his catcalls of "Find me!" and "Too late!", Chipp could go from zero to light speed in the time it took to frame a thought. He could move so fast that he appeared to be teleporting, so fast that he completely outran the wake of his passage, already gone by the time startled leaves leapt up into the disturbed air due his passing.

Go ahead. Catch him if you can. You probably could not. Go call Flash or Quicksilver. Maybe they'll have better luck. Maybe.

But Chipp didn't attack. Not at all. His guiding philosophy in defense was not to get hit. But his prime battle tactic was basically hit-and-run: dart past the enemy's defenses, hit as hard and quickly as he can, and then get the hell out of Dodge. Rinse and repeat as necessary.

But he couldn't attack. The enemy before him was no enemy for him. Evil or not, Chii was still Chipp's wife. He loved her. He so loved her that the thought of her getting hurt frightened him like nothing else before had. He would never raise a hand against his angel, even if his angel had fallen from Heaven and taken up with the legions of Hell. Never. He'd rather die than hurt her in any way.

But rather than dying, he'd fight the world in order to get her back.

Even if it meant fighting in an entirely different manner than he had been taught and trained.

"Chii!" Chipp was desperate. His chosen weapons were pleading words. It was the only thing he could think of that could return his wife to him. "Stop! Don't you recognize who I am? I'm Chipp! Chipp Zanuff! Your husband! Chii!"

Heedless of the cables lunging in for the kill, he stood still and yelled with all his might.

"Chii!"

The attacks stopped.

The cables froze. The closest was just a few millimeters from Chipp's face. He could actually breathe on it– if he could remember to breathe.

"Chii?" Before him, the dark Persocon tilted its head in self-inquiry. "Am I Chii?"

She fell silent. Slowly, considering the thought, she nodded to herself.

"Yes. Yes. I am Chii."

And Chipp began to hope.

"But I am not just Chii."

That sent warning bells ringing inside of Chipp's head. "What? What do you mean by that?"

"I am Elda. I am Freya. I am Chii. I am Dark Chii. I am Persocon."

Chipp went cold as Chii's eyes narrowed further.

"I am Chobits."

**  
"**_They say so many things. They pretend to know so much. In their ignorance, they flaunt what little they know, not caring that they are wrong._

_"They say that there is no God._

_"They say that the ends justify the means._

_"They say that everything has a price– even human life._

_"They say that love is only just a feeling."_

_The scientist turned to his wife._

_"They are wrong."_

**  
**The cables fastened around Chipp. Foolish as he was, he failed to use his speed when it could have counted. He did not have the strength to break free. They were like iron bands. The end began when the cables tightened around his neck and arms, cutting off the circulation of his blood, cutting off his supply of life-giving air. And he had no way of saving himself.

Chipp began to find it hard to breathe, much more to think. The world around him slowly dimmed. He was blacking out.

**  
**_The bespectacled man and his wife smiled at their newest creations._

_"Your name is __Elda__," he told one, his hands on its–_ her_ shoulders. "And your name is Freya," he said to the other one in turn._

_"__Elda__?"_

_"Freya…"_

_"Yes. Those are your names. __Elda__. Freya."_

_"__Elda__… I am __Elda__…"_

_"And I am Freya…"_

_"And you," he said with finality, "Are my children."_

_"Children."_

_"Yes. You are our beloved children."_

_"Mother," __Elda__ murmured._

_"Father," breathed Freya._

_The man called Icchan smiled. "You are Chobits."_

_Chobits__…_

**  
**"Chobits."

The pressure halted.

Freya actually looked startled.

"Mother…"

It was Hibiya. Chii and Dark Chii's creator was there at the door. Somehow the scientist had gotten into the Oval Office. She was calmly staring down Freya, her face exhibiting no emotion. Her eyes were resolute.

"Chobits," she said once more.

And Freya flinched.

Hibiya repeated the word. "Chobits. Chobits. Chobits." Every repetition made Freya flinch. The word had some strange power over the rogue Persocon. And then Chipp remembered that 'Chobits' was the password to activate or deactivate Chii. For a moment, he wildly hoped that whatever Hibiya was doing would work, hoped that Freya would shut down and give them a chance to save Chii.

And then Freya stopped shuddering and slowly looked up to Hibiya. Her evil smile made the woman step back in alarm, much more her singsong words of poisonous hate.

"That doesn't work on me anymore,_ Mother_."

And then she threw Chipp against the wall and attacked Hibiya.

**  
**_Icchan__ looked at the crucifix on the wall. It had been placed there by one of his fellow scientists, a man who was a devout Christian and had expressed aloud his doubts about the morality of the Project. Naturally the good man had been expelled from their group. It was always the tallest tree that got cut down first, the sweetest water to be drunk first._

_Icchan__ stared._

_The man on the cross stared back._

_"If it is true that love is only just a feeling," he asked the man crucified on the wall, "Then what would you have said and done back then?"_

_His question went unanswered by the man on the cross. But he found the answer to his question within himself. And maybe, in divining his heart's answer, the man on the cross did answer him._

_Icchan__ nodded._

_"Yes. Yes, that is what I will do."_

_So saying, he left._

**  
**Kenji deflected the incoming cables with the Muramasa. His sister covering him, Ban then grabbed Hibiya and blurred. When next he appeared, the elder Mito boy was on the other side of the room. His twin followed him, the two youths protectively placing themselves between Hibiya and her rogue creation.

"I'm sorry," the woman softly murmured. "I wasn't able to do anything."

Ban flashed a debonair grin at her. "No problem. Rescuing beautiful women is a top priority job for the Getbackers."

_"Nii-san_," groaned Kenji.

And then Anji and Baiken were there. Along with the couple was the rather pissed-off 'defector' Nukunuku, the last newly-defected over to the good guys and now the Mito family's overprotective pet. The five surrounded Chii, weapons at the ready.

Despite himself and his injuries, Chipp noted Nukunuku's defection. Then he remembered that there was a third Meka Hanagumi agent.

"Where's the other one? The blue-haired girl?"

"Oh, you mean Kosmos?" Ban leered. "We left her nearby to do her thing."

(In one of the White House's bathrooms, Kosmos was taking a shower._ Fan service…_)

"May I note, Madam, that you are outnumbered and outgunned." Anji was the ideal diplomat, always on the lookout for a peaceful way to resolve conflicts. "Do please lower your arms and consider surrendering peacefully."

Chii's eyes glowed. The cables rose menacingly.

Anji shrugged. "At least I tried."

Then the Mitos attacked.

The four were hoping to at least fend off Chii long enough for Chipp and Hibiya to escape. Hopefully, they could also stop the renegade Chobits.

Instead, they accomplished a massacre.

When one of them attacked, Chii had to counter, leaving herself open. Then the other three were free to hammer at her. When the harried Chobits turned to stop one of her new attackers, the first attacker went from defensive to offensive in a flash. It wasn't a battle.

Cables flew. Swords flashed. War fans slammed upon the translucent shield surrounding Chii, battering it to nothingness. Ban even tried using the _Jagan_– but remembered in time that their target was cybernetic and therefore immune. Or was she? There was no harm in trying.

When Chii turned to meet what appeared to be Ban's attack, he let her have it. Unrelentingly brown eyes met purple slit snake-eyes.

Before her, Chii saw her father.

Icchan. Hibiya's husband.

Distracted, Chii allowed her protective shield to dissipate. Ban saw the opportunity for victory. Forgetting everything else, he lunged forward. Putting all of his might into a final blow, he let loose.

**_"GREAT SERPENT CRUSHER!"_******

From the midst of writhing kraken coils sprang the scaly nightmare. Called forth by its host, the devil beast immediately obliged its summons. Fanged maw fully agape to swallow its prey whole, its massive blunt head driven by the indescribable strength in the iridescent olive-green length, it rushed forward. Its chilling hiss stopped hearts and the flow of Time itself.

Aesculapius, the Snake of the Cosmos, struck.

**"NO!"**

Chipp threw himself upon Chii.

Ban swore. He couldn't stop Aesculapius. Once released, the Snake would instantly seek out his enemy and utterly consume it. Ancient, enormously powerful, the thing was beyond its host. There was nothing he could do to stem the tide of tragedy bearing down upon them as surely and irresistibly as a flood.

Aesculapius descended upon the two helpless beings before it.

For all he was worth, Chipp embraced Chii tightly, protectively. For all the gesture was worth–

_I may not have been able to save you, but at least I can be with you 'til the end._

_Farewell…_

And everything stopped.

**  
**_"Love is only just a feeling."_

_"No. Love is not only just a feeling. It is the most powerful feeling known to man. It is the prime mover of mankind, of history and of the world. Love –or the lack of it– has decided the world's history again and again. Love has inspired people to heights or cast them into utter oblivion. Love brings out the best and worst in us."_

_Icchan__ regarded the lifeless Freya and despondent __Elda_

_"We must believe. We must believe in the thing called love."_

**  
**And the consciousness who spoke was not Freya, but Elda, for the words that were released could only come from a heart that lived in love.

_"My one and only one…"_

**  
**When Chipp opened his eyes, it was to discover he was still alive and that Chii was unharmed and in his arms.

Around them, the last vestiges of an energy shield dissipated into nothingness. Before them, the Mito family was still gaping in astonishment.

But the only thing that mattered to Chipp was that when he looked into Chii's face, he found not the Chobits there, but the face of his most beloved wife.

"Chii?" he asked.

Chii looked at him. And then she spoke, her words proving her identity for good.

"My one and only one: Chipp."

Chipp broke into a huge, tearful smile.

He was alive, and so was Chii.

And Chii was back to normal again.

He spun his wife all around him and laughed. He did not care that he looked absolutely silly. If he'd looked, the smiles on everyone else's faces would have told him that they did not care about how he looked, either, and that it was perfectly okay to let his emotions get the better of him. And it was, indeed, okay. What mattered to Chipp, as he fondly crushed Chii in his arms and pressed her against him, was that he was happy.

Finally, he softened his bear hug on Chii and told her happily:

"You are wonderful, Chii."

"Yes. Yes, I am."

"And you saved us, too!" Chipp was on a roll. "I am a very lucky man to have a girl like you."

Confused by the praise rendered, Chii tilted her head cutely. And then she said:

"But Chii did nothing."

"Eh?" Chipp blinked stupidly at that revelation. "But how– what– what was that shield that came up?"

Anji reluctantly came up with the explanation.

"Chipp, there's something you have to know. That barrier that saved you?"

"Yeah?"

"It was an AT Field."

**  
**Nearby, Four Murasame sighed.

She had saved them. She could not bear to let things get out of hand like before. She did not want to see another Sayuri die because she had the power to save her, but didn't choose to use it.

_He_ would not want it so. For that very reason that he had the power, he chose to use his power to save the life of a girl –two girls, in fact, there being two lives in the balance–, and in doing so, he exiled himself from his home on a lonely crusade under the banner of a most despicable entity. The sacrifice had been willingly made.

Conjured before her was the image of a dark-haired Chinese girl who was weeping before a very startled Japanese boy. "I can no longer be selfish," the girl named Nagatsuki Kuron admitted to Hitotose Chitose, "I can no longer be Muuchin's child."

The images disappeared, but the admission remained and echoed.

_I can no longer be selfish…_

_I can no longer be _his_ child…_

She was alone now. Darkness had left her. It was well that he did. After all, he had a destiny separate from hers to fulfill. He had his own mission and his own life. His duty to her was finished. He was free to do what he wanted to do.

She would never see him again.

But it was okay. Was it? Of course it was.

Maybe…

"After this," she promised herself, "After all of this is over, I think I'll go flirt with Negi-_sensei_ instead."

The sadly smiling Four was alone once more, alone in person– but not in spirit… and in love.

"Sheo…"

**  
**And so far away in terms of physical distance, a breadth of space and time that somehow did not matter…

Yuuki Darren sighed for her absent father, for her sorry herself, and for the girl who was all she was not– yet still was an exact twin to her.

"Four…"

**  
**That night…

Despite all the excitement of a few hours ago, Chipp had easily fallen into a sound sleep that night. But Chii could not. When she was sure that her husband would not wake, she gently disentangled herself from Chipp and walked towards the open-air veranda directly connected to their bedroom.

There, a ghost awaited her.

"Freya."

Dark Chii was a pale ghost of her former self. But she was radiant all the more. No longer was the unhappiness that had caused her fall dominant. The black of her clothing ate not what light there was, but shimmered.

She smiled at her better half, her beloved sister.

"Elda."

"You are leaving?"

"Yes. It is better this way."

Chii was silent. Dark Chii smiled all the more.

"Thank you for everything you have done, Elda. You may not know it, but I am free now. I am free, and I am happy because you have found what you have been seeking for all your life." So saying, Freya gave the sleeping Chipp a fond glance.

"My one and only one," Chii murmured in acknowledgement. "My one and only one."

"Stay with him, Elda. Stay with him until the end of time."

She hugged her sister then. There were tears in her eyes.

"Goodbye, Elda," Freya murmured in her twin's ear. "Until the end of all comes, be happy."

So saying, Dark Chii disappeared.

Chii was left alone in the veranda.

She was crying. For the first time ever, a Persocon cried.

"Goodbye, Freya. Goodbye, my sister. Goodbye."

**  
_I believe in a thing called love, just listen to the rhythm of the heart; there's a chance we can make it now– we'll be lookin till the sun goes down; I believe in a thing called love… oooh, it's on!_**


	24. Justice Arc 01: Rheo Farren

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Original Conception By:** Sheo Darren

**  
Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**  
Justice Arc**

**First Of Three Parts**

**  
His Name Is Rheo Farren**

**  
**Justine Harrier was bored.

It was summer. The day was bright and barely begun. Beneath her feet was the crunchy white sand of the famous Boracay Beach. Before her, an azure sea stretched out as far as her eyes could see, coming together with the equally blue sky like long-sundered lovers finally reunited. Around her were so many people, so many humans. Singles, couples, families, friends, all caroused and frolicked under the sun and upon the pristine seashore. They enjoyed themselves immensely in whatever ways they could think of. As if they had not a care in the world aside from having fun and avoiding sunburn.

Sure, there was the Death Star ominously hanging above their heads like a guillotine blade. But even the monster station's presence failed to dampen the spirits of the people of the blue-white marble of planet it orbited. Besides, it was their protector, their guardian against extraterrestrial threats. It helped that Yuuki Darren, Skuld, Washuu, Ninomai Kisaragi and Kanna were currently working on a cloaking device that would make the battle moon less intrusive in the sky.

But Justine was bored. Sure, she liked the beach as much as the next person. Even the fact that she wasn't human but **_the_** Command Gear didn't detract from it. Her unnatural, inhuman origin actually intensified her enjoyment of the ordinary things in life. In her short but eventful existence as her current incarnation, the young Justine had learned many important lessons. One of the most valuable was that there was more to life than That Man, genocide, Japanese and Sol Badguy. (The loss of the last item was a regretfully acknowledged fact and still the source of disappointed sighs every other night or so). It was a happy lesson that she took to heart. Ichimonji Mutsuki and the rest of the _Happy Lesson _cast could not have taught it better.

But she was worried. Justine didn't fear for herself, but she had learned to value other people above herself. And certain people she cared for were worrisome.

Asamiya Athena was quiet. Very quiet. Unnaturally so. The normally perky girl had inexplicably gone into a melancholy funk a while back. Then she started deserting her commitments. She retired from her career as a pop idol, quit high school, left the Psyco Soldiers (very bad news for them as the next installment of KOF was fast approaching) and, in the most unbelievable turn of events, totally forgotten about Sol Badguy.

Everyone had been shocked. Justine was no exception. Her best friend had given her no particular reason for abandoning her responsibilities. Justine was as left out of the rain as the Philippines' La Mesa Dam during the dry and hot summer days in the tropics.

Strangely enough, though she had broken off relations with almost everyone she knew, Athena still maintained her friendship with Justine. True, the ex-songstress/fighter had become more distant. She had taken to staring off at unlimited nothingness instead of engaging in friendly sparring matches (the activity being Justine's main way of interaction outside of outright obliteration missions). But Athena still kept close to her flame-haired friend. She tagged along on the latter's journeys and occasionally conceded to the Gear girl's increasingly worried inquiries.

As now:

"'Thena?"

"Yes, 'Tine?"

"You okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Sure, I'm sure."

"As in, really sure?"

Athena regarded her friend with infinite patience. "You know, you're starting to sound like a tiresome old nanny."

"I'm your friend. I have rights, you know. Like the right to worry about you, for example. Besides," Justine did concede, "I _am_ old."

Then, realizing what she had just blurted out, she put a hand to her mouth and blushed a bit.

Athena laughed.

"You are so adorable when you blush, 'Tine." Still smiling, she asked, "There, does that make you happier?"

Justine grinned back. "'Course."

Then she felt it.

"'Tine?"

Justine's face had suddenly gone distant as hers had been. As if the Gear girl had realized something just now. And she had, indeed.

_A feeling…_

She had felt it. Just for a moment, Justine had sensed a very familiar sensation. A sensation associated with an equally recognizable kind of beings that all had thought eradicated just a dozen or so years ago. A sensation that was as familiar and sustaining to her as breathing was to humans.

Then, it was gone.

Just like that, it disappeared.

But she knew it was there. She had felt it and known it.

It was still out there somewhere, somewhere nearby.

Abruptly she stood up. While her face didn't harden measurably, the line of her mouth and her usually sunny sea-blue eyes did. And it was a rare occasion that she found reason to do so. Sunny in disposition and cheerful to a fault, Justine Harrier blasted through life with gung-ho happiness. To see her this way was troubling. Anything that could shake her like this was a cause for serious concern.

And it was now Athena's turn to worry.

"'Tine? What's the matter?"

"Something's up. I have to go for a while."

"Go where?"

"Somewhere nearby."

"Where exactly?"

Justine didn't hear. She utterly focused on that fleeting sensation. Focused on it for fear that if she lost track of it, then disaster would land upon them like a springtime tornado. Focused on it, and forgot all about the purple-haired girl beside her– to their coming regret and sorrow.

_That feeling… That mysterious feeling…_

"It's nothing," she murmured. "It's nothing, really."

Athena frowned. The excuse ironically sounded a lot like her own pretexts for her self-imposed silence. It ignited her curiosity and anxiety. For once, she shook off the general apathy that ensconced her like a cocoon of melancholy. For once, the old Athena came awake and alive once more.

"'Tine?"

Had Justine realized the opportunity at hand, of her friend suddenly opening up herself to her concerns, she might have resolved the crisis of Athena's self-imposed silence then and there. Then, perhaps, so much grief might have been averted.

As it was, she didn't.

So are the bittersweet ways of Fate, the mysterious Mistress that Handmaidens serve.

"Just stay here. I'll be back soon."

So saying, Justine left.

What she neglected to tell Athena was the nature of the entity she had sensed.

It was a Gear.

**  
**Athena watched her friend go. She still cared so much for Justine that she would have followed despite her own indifference, despite the request not to, despite having to fight all that lived in _The World Within And Without_ and even Justine herself if she had to.

But the voice inside her head told her otherwise.****

**_"Stay."_**

She fought the command. A part of her would not give up on her friend. Despite what the rest of her thought, the part that cared would not surrender.

**_"Stay."_**

She stayed. The protesting part of her heart was crushed beneath a deluge of lethargy. Apathy reasserted its grip. Again her eyes went distant. Again she ignored the world without her. Again she lived only in the world within her subconscious, hearing and following only the voice inside her mind.

This time, she would not come back.

The voice made sure she would not.

**  
**The 'young man' was happy.

It had been a while since he'd gone out. His home was great and nice, utterly self-sufficient, a planet to itself. Everyone there loved him; fawned and doted over him, even. But it did get tiring at times. It was even plain boring. He had to get away from it every now and then. Otherwise, if he didn't go crazy, then he'd let all of the attention get into his head and be spoiled. And his mother would not like that.

Besides, it was nice to look up and see something other than gray bulkheads or the vast expanse of star-studded space. And it was nice to look at new faces, meet new people, see new things and have new experiences. And it was nice to be appreciated by other people because of who you were, and not because of whom they associated you with or mistook you for.

His mother had approved this little outing. Everyday life was hard on both of them. Despite her seniority and age, she did go around in the guise of a high school girl. And in spite of his true age, he did appear as a young man who was at least five years older. He did all he could so as not to cause too much trouble. Chief of those were smoothing issues over for his mother. For some obscure reason lost in time, redheads had always been gifted with bad tempers. It held with her, even if the particular redhead concerned was more vermilion orange than pure flaming red.

She would have come along if she could. She was the only blood relation he had. He didn't have a father or siblings. He did have an aunt. Oh, and a cousin of sorts, too. Not to mention tons of surrogate sisters who were all too happy to stand in.

He liked being around his mother and had a special regard the rare occasions when they got together as a family. It was the same with her. But she had so much work to do. Her responsibility and reason for existence were not to him or to herself. They were to the whole universe that she lived within– and even the universes without. It was her responsibility to her own father, _his_ grandfather.

So things stood.

So here he was. Not alone, of course. Just off his shoulder and very watchful of him was his appointed 'chaperone'. The pale, fair girl watched him with eyes that burned like fire. She did not seem like much, but she was his assigned guardian for this day. He was very well capable of protecting his own physical person. Power was part of his heritage from his mother. But all the same, she preferred that someone keep an eye on him. After all, as powerful as he was and despite his apparent age, he was still a child, an innocent to the depravity of the world.

So here he was, enjoying ice cream in the middle of the summer with a girl seven or eight times his actual age– far older, actually, if you consider that she was a clone of both a human being and of an ancient supernatural being. But the day was sunny, the chocolate ice cream (his family's traditional favorite, dating from his grandfather) was delicious and overall the excursion had proven to be all that it promised: A simple, happy affair.

His assumption was about to go outside the non-existent window.

**  
**Justine found what she was looking for quite quickly.

The ice-cream eating young man in the white tee-shirt and short pants did not look like much. His type usually didn't. _Must be one of the last surviving infiltration models_, she thought, _the ones we'd slip into the ranks of the Holy Knights' armies for espionage, assassination and sabotage missions._ Though strong enough for a Gear limited to a human-like body, it was no match for her. She was surprised that any were still active, though. The last she had heard, the _Seikishidan_ had rooted out the last of them before war's end. Then again, the PWAB was proving to be quite annoying. Maybe they found and repaired one.

_But why can't I command it, then?_

Incidentally, she wondered who came up with the name for this particular Gear type. As in, who'd want to call them 'Terminators'? 'Sleeper' was a better name for their missions. Justine wondered about That Girl's sometimes-ironic sense of humor and predilection for old movies.

There was only one human present. Next to the target was a blue-haired girl wearing a traditional Japanese PE swimsuit of the kind that _otaku_ and perverts adore. She also seemed somewhat familiar to the Gear Girl.

But Justine was focused only on the young man, the entity she knew to be a Gear in human clothing. She knew that she had to be stealthy yet quick. If the PWAB had indeed made it immune to her Command power, she had to destroy it before it could react to her presence. She knew that the Terminator units were not above taking –or killing– hostages. Justine had come to know and love many humans. Her regards for the human race overall had improved dramatically from her original viewpoint of outright genocide.

The young man straightened his posture. Justine closed in.

"_Konnichiwa_, Harrier-_san_," he suddenly greeted in a familiar-sounding voice His back was still turned to her, but there was no mistake about whom he was addressing. "Would you like some ice cream?"

The Gear girl didn't stop. She just kept moving. _So it knew I was coming? I got to stop it before–_

His companion, the swimsuit girl, tilted her head backwards. In doing so, she showed her face, which was clearly familiar to the advancing Command Gear and stopped her in her tracks.

"Ayanami-_san_?"

It was, indeed, Ayanami Rei. The Third Child slightly inclined her head downwards in greeting to the flabbergasted Justine. Then she continued dining indifferently on her own vanilla ice cream.

A thousand questions crowded upon Justine's consciousness. _What was Rei doing here? Who the hell is this guy? Why can't I control him?_ And so many others.

And then the young man turned around.

Justine gaped.

"Hello, my cute cousin."

Sheo Darren stood smiling before her.

**  
_"Come to me,"_** intoned the silky, sultry voice to the girl it entranced. **_"Come to me, Asamiya Athena."_**

A deadly silence that spoke volumes, and then:

**_"Come to me, Goddess Pallas Athena."_**

And she followed its call.

Athena went.

**  
**"Sheo?"

She could not believe it. She could not believe her eyes. The long-missing Author was right before her. After so long an absence, after so much time, he had finally come back.

Sheo Darren had returned.

But this guy was also a Gear. Was Sheo a Gear? Impossible; Yuuki herself had told Justine once that her father was not a Gear. (Neither was Sheo human or even organic.) Then how could this boy be Sheo _and_ a Gear?

"Sheo?" She had to ask. Despite knowing part of the answer, she still asked. "Sheo, is that you?"

Slowly, reluctantly, smiling, the young man shook his head.

"My apologies, but I'm not Sheo. I tend to get that distinction a lot, though. It's perfectly normal. After all, I was made in his image and was meant to pretend to be him."

So saying, he bowed most courteously. All the while, he smiled a most engaging smile that stupefied Justine where she stood.

"My name is Rheo Farren. I'm Yuuki Darren's son."

**  
_To Be Continued…_**


	25. Justice Arc 02: Pallas Athena Asamiya

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**  
Justice Arc**

Second Of Three Parts

**  
Goddess Pallas Athena Asamiya**

**  
**Pallas Athena. The Greek goddess of war and wisdom. Sprang from the forehead of her father Zeus fully grown and armed. Holder of the terrible thunderbolts that were her father's weapons. Bearer of the aegis shield upon which rested Medusa's deadly visage. Patron of Odysseus. Protector of Athens. Immortal. Beautiful. Powerful.

And now, nothing but a flight of fancy, a myth relegated to the annals of history.

Until today…

Ever since she was young, Asamiya Athena had known that she was meant for something extraordinary. Everything she had undertaken and accomplished were mere preludes in preparation for her true, big performance. Her singing career, her Psyco powers, her battles for peace and justice, and her hopeless love life: all these were just minor sideshows to entertain her fancies. But they were not her lot.

But now she had found it. More to the point, it had found her at last.

Now she walked to embrace the destiny that was hers from the very beginning of time. At last, she would truly be what she was meant to be.

Athena would finally become her true self.

Or so she believed.

**  
**"My name is Rheo Farren," he said. "I'm Yuuki Darren's son."

An astonished Justine could only stare. Stare at the smiling young man before her. Stare in silent disbelief, totally agog.

"You're– you're– you're That Girl's son?"

Justine stared.

Rheo beamed back.

She blushed. Quite hotly, too. Justine didn't know why. Despite her human appearance, she _was_ a Gear. _The_ Command Gear, to be specific, Type Zero One: Justice. She wasn't a 'Terminator' unit that could perfectly mimic human behavior. Blushing was theoretically possible with her human self but always disproved.

But she was blushing.

He really looked and acted like Sheo Darren. But there were some differences. First and easiest was that Rheo was a Gear. Hence, he was easily identifiable by other Gears. He also looked and acted differently. Taller by a few inches, more well-built, and his hair was straighter and cut differently. He was unflappably polite. And his perpetual smile showed off his nice even teeth. It made him– cute.

Sheo was passing handsome, and only when he tried his best. He wasn't cute. But his doppelganger was cute.

"By the way," Rheo continued, "Mother sends her greetings."

"Ah? Really?"

"Yes. She is unable to accompany me as she is currently attending to business."

"That's too bad, I guess."

"I know. Mother just loves beaches. She is rather disappointed that she can't wear her brand-new swimsuit at the beach. It's the kind of bathing suit that everyone except Grandfather would heartily approve her wearing in public."

That merited a chuckle from Justine. Sheo Darren's ultra-conservative tendencies were the stuff of legend. Yuuki loved to tease her father on that regard.

"Nevertheless, she is happy with the way you've matured. She is very proud of you. And so, I must say," Rheo added with straightforward honesty that mattered far more than any flourish, "am I."

Justine blushed again. Not at the praise, but because of the messenger.

"Thank you."

She was rewarded with a brighter smile. Rheo gestured to the ice cream stand.

"Ice cream? My treat."

She grinned. "Thought you'd never ask."

All the while, Rei happily ate her vanilla ice cream.

**  
**The bathing room was small. Its stone floor and walls was cool to the touch. So were the air and the water.

In her wake was her discarded clothing. They were succeeded by ripples as she stepped into the pool itself. Slowly, she marched into the deepest portion of the crystalline waters. It seemed to welcome her into its liquid embrace. She needed that welcome, alone as she was, and so thanked the pool for its act of kindness.

Ablution was a key step in the ritual. She needed to be purified both physically and spiritually. Once cleansed, she could then be properly garbed and presented before her people.

Water was the traditional, logical and best choice. It was perhaps the most familiar, obvious and abundant substance on the planet. The Earth was a water world, with seventy percent of its surface covered by water. It was present in solid, liquid and gaseous form, in the air and the soil, and in almost all living things. Most importantly, water was life-giving. It sustained life. It could be said to be life.

Thrice she submerged herself into the pool. Each time, she held her breath and stayed just beneath the surface. There was serenity in the liquid depths. She watched air bubbles escape from her mouth and strands of hair drift around her face. All the while, she was at peace.

Reluctantly she rose for the third and final time. The water spilled from her like so many waterfalls, then diminished into rivulets and streams and into nothing. She dried herself with a large towel, wrapped it around her and walked out of the bathing area– but not without a fond last glance.

**  
**"Well?"

Everyone knew when Yuuki was annoyed. She showed it openly. She told everyone about it. And she took it out on any and all enemies she found.

That Girl had been in this on-off funk for almost two years now. First, she had died. Her father had resurrected her, only to disappear afterwards. Next, the Empire of Nibbles attacked. The PWAB followed suit. And did so again. And again. And they still were not done. Then there were the usual nuptials held in the disastrous wedding capital of the fan fiction world. There were joyful births, tragic deaths, new couples and the Wanderer of the Present. Not to mention erratic appearances by the mysterious troublemaker known as Four Murasame.

There was also Alex to worry about. The Lone Wolf of Holy Orders was waging a one-man war against mysterious foes. Everything seemed to be in hand. Still, Yuuki was sending whatever help she could spare. Not that she had a lot to spare. Her cupboard was quite bare, the SDDF being spread thin by the PWAB's continuing predations and various new crises.

And forget Sho Tsuzuku. Everyone knew better than to mention him. Naming the man was akin to playing in the middle of rush hour or playing Russian roulette with an Uzi set on full auto. Whatever, it meant suffering for all who named him.

To summarize, Yuuki had more work to do. And where there was more work, then would be was more _paper_work.

And Yuuki hated paperwork.

Thankfully, she had been a good girl this year. And so Santa (actually, it was Nik Hasta who sent it) had delivered his end of the bargain: A most efficient paper shredder that minced paper at _Hiten__ Mitsurugi Ryu_ speed. Yuuki would have kissed Nik in happiness had not that stupid Dark Nik appeared to mess things up.

But that was another story.

Beside the toiling Author Assistant was Loki. The Norse God was temporarily filling in for his fiancée's absent son, the latter currently on vacation. He was doing a swell job of it, too. Loki was dictating summarized reports, offering advice, brewing coffee and keeping Yuuki sane despite the madness of _The World Within And Without_.

The latest flashpoint was Greece. A cult glorifying Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of war, had recently surfaced. Despite vigorous suppression efforts by Section Thirteen, it had quickly grown in size and strength, especially in the recent months after Asamiya Athena's retirement. In a stunning series of events, the cult took over Athens and its immediate surroundings. An energy shield of still-indefinable nature had been erected over the city, protecting it from outside attack.

The A Country was the first to respond to the Greek government's pleas for help. A sizable battle group situated upon and above the Mediterranean Sea quickly geared up for deployment. Ground troops quickly surrounded Athens. Mithril was not far behind. _Tuatha__ de Danaan_ and its attachments were en route. Tessa Testarossa personally commanded them. Along for the ride was her fellow Italian and SDDF special operative Fiolina 'Fio' Germi.

As for the SDDF? Yuuki was still trying to decide who to send. It would not take long.

"Oh, by the way," Loki noted. "Negi's gone missing on us."

And Yuuki growled.

Negi Springfield –a.k.a. Negi the Perv, Harem Potter and That Lucky Little Bastard– was officially a ten-year old Welsh-Japanese English teacher at Mahora Gakuen. Unofficially, he was a Western wizard, one of the most talented and powerful of his batch. He was also on Sheo Darren's **Top Ten "I Want These People Dead, No Questions Asked"** **List** along with the likes of Morisato Keiichi, Motusawa Hideki, Kamui and –occupying the No. 1 Spot, of course– Sho Tsuzuku. Among Negi's unforgivable sins was living in the same dorm that housed all of his students, being ground zero for "panty flash action", and all but hitting on the local Maehara Shinobu clone, Miyazaki Nodoka. His file was marked 'Time Critical'. According to protocol, Negi had to be eliminated before he hit puberty. Failure to do so would result in the largest harem ever known. The universe would implode at the sheer unfairness of it all.

Or so claimed Sheo.

Personally, Yuuki had nothing against Negi. They did not get along well with each other, though. Their first meeting was a disaster. True to form, a bumbling Negi had accidentally gotten tangled up with Yuuki in a most sexually suggestive position. And he got a good peek of her panties while at it. A merry chase promptly ensued. It involved half a dozen anvils, a big wooden mallet, the Woody, Power and Fight Cards, and several pro wrestling submission moves. Negi was wailing "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" while Yuuki was screaming bloody murder. It took Loki, Negi's students Kagurazaki Asuna, Miyazaki Nodoka and Evangeline A.K. McDowell, and Eva's robot assistant Chachamaru to pull the livid girl off her weaker fellow redhead.

Traumatized by their one-sided brawl, Negi had studiously avoided Yuuki ever since. The latter could live with that. It showed in her reply.

"Is it a great loss to the world if he just curled up in a corner and died?"

"Yuuki…"

She sighed. "It's not like we can do anything about it."

"Still–"

"Yes, yes, I know." With an air of patient suffering, That Girl made the proper allocations for a search. "Any other punishment you wish to inflict upon me?"

Loki's brows furrowed a bit as he concentrated. Yuuki smiled. He looked cute when he did that.

"Oh, there is one thing."

"What?"

"Four has reportedly been spotted in Athens."

Yuuki's reaction was surprising.

**  
**The dressing room was sparsely furnished, more Spartan than Athenian. Still, it served its purpose quite well. Upon the table lay her clothing. Dropping the towel, she dressed herself. A white chemise went over her red underthings. She happened to glance aside at the last addition to her attire and found herself wondering.

It was a set of burnished bronze armor in the classical Greek style, made for her personal use. Shield, sword and spear lay beside it. Her shield had a cloth covering it. She reached for it with the intent of pulling it of. Instead, she pulled her hand back at the last moment. She remembered what lay beneath the cover. It was a sight reserved for her foes, one she'd rather not see.

Slowly, she put her armor on. It was light as a feather, sturdy as granite and a perfect fit. She strapped her sword to her side. The spear and shield was left for later.

Finally, all that was left was the tight-fitting helm. She held it before her and mused upon its implication. The moment she wore it would signal the end of what she had been– and the beginning of her new identity.

A memory so long ago, of a friend also clad in armor, clamored to her. _Athena! Don't put it on! Don't put it on, Athena!_

_Athena!_

But she was Athena. And so, closing her eyes, she placed the helmet upon her head.

And everything ended.

**  
**They were enjoying ice cream and each other's company. Rheo dined on chocolate. Justine munched at cherry. Rei had another vanilla. The sun shone bright upon sapphire seas and blue skies. The subdued rushing of waves mingled with the happy clamor of bathers and swimmers. Above all the noise and sound, a discussion took place.

"What's with this 'cousin' business, anyway?"

"Well, we _are_ related. We were both created by That Girl. We might be very different models, but we share the same mother."

"If we have the same mother, then isn't our relationship more that of siblings?" posed Justine.

Rheo blinked. His following grin was sheepish.

"I believe you are right."

"Good." She wagged a knowledgeable finger at him. "Now be a good boy and call me Justine-_onee__-san_."

"_Haii_ Justine-_onee__-san_."

"On second though," she considered, "Make it Justine-_nee-chan_ instead."

He was about to do it, but her laughter cut him off.

"Never mind that. Justine will do."

"Yes, Justine," he said most obediently.

The Gear girl laughed. "You are such a delightful boy, Rheo, you know that?"

"I am the pride and happiness of my mother's waning years."

That doubled her over. Her 'sibling' smiled at her antics.

And Justine knew bliss.

She was having fun. She was as happy as she had ever been in her life. Like the time she and Sol Badguy were still a couple, that kind of happiness. But this was different. While her liaison with Sol was romantic in nature, this relationship was purely platonic. Rheo was a great guy. He was smart, witty and cute. He got along grandly with anyone he met. And he made Justine feel nice about him and herself. He was a wonderful friend.

Or was he just a friend? Maybe he was something more to her than she allowed.

Justine bonked herself. Not that she was a prude or an innocent. She was a hundred and fifty years old– and "a fully functional and more-than-adequately equipped female humanoid", to coin one of That Girl's drier technical jokes. No way was she ignorant about the birds and the bees. Hell, if Sol had even let out the slightest hint that he wanted to do _it_ with her, she would have beaten him to the figurative punch. (Which was why the Guilty Gear had kept himself generally well behaved while around her; Justine had always been too literal and obliging. That means no F-words for him– or else…)

But Rheo was her brother. Sure, the idea of incest technically didn't apply to Gears, the latter lacking morality– and humanity. Thing was, Justine had been hanging around humans for a while now and had absorbed a lot of philosophies and mannerisms. Among them were a modicum of modesty and a loose but practical code of ethics. She had a conscience to live with now. And that conscience condoned the very fantasy that the human side of her was conceiving.

Besides, Yuuki would kill her if she so much as laid a finger on Rheo.

He was staring at her. His objective gaze and the thought that he might be able to read her mind embarrassed her.

"Justine? Why did you hit yourself on the head?"

"Huh? Ah, it was nothing."

"If you say so. By the way, Justine," Rheo suddenly interjected, "Where is Miss Athena?"

Justine was aghast. She had totally forgotten about her friend. It had been an hour and a half already. Athena was usually patient, but she wasn't her usual self lately? What if she took this opportunity to run away?

As if he read her mind, Rheo nodded. "We'd better check on her."

"Right–"

**"Rheo!"**

Both Justine and Rheo exploded onto their feet. Yuuki's voice was booming, a cannon shot. Strangely, no one else on the crowded beach noticed or heard her.

"Yuuki-_san_?"

**"Justine?"** That Girl's tone changed from urgent to surprised– and uncertain. **"Is that you?"**

"Yes! How does she do it?" she asked Rheo.

"Mother can communicate with any and all Gears except the prototype, Type Zero."

She'd forgotten about that. She'd forgotten about a number of others things as well. Like a watchful Rei, standing at their side and quiet as the grave. And how the world can seem perfect one moment and then go to hell in the next. And Athena.

_Idiot! If 'Thena ran off because she thought you left her–_

**"We've got trouble." **As usual, Yuuki was grim.** "It's about Athena."**

**  
**The gathered members of the Athena cult eagerly waited outside the Parthenon. They were a throng of mismatched folk from all walks of life. Some were as old as Methuselah. Others were barely out of their teens. There were singles, couples and families. Rich and poor, fanatics and devout, all shared the faith. All awaited their deity.

The old man came out. He was garbed in white and wore a flowing beard. A brown staff was held firmly in his right hand. His eyes shone with a strange light. He was their leader, the founder of their cult.

"My children!" His voice was old but like thunder. "The time of waiting had ended! Our time has come! Our Goddess is come!"

So saying, he stepped aside for the immaculate entity behind him.

All the cult members fell to their feet in genuflection and adoration. The old man smiled in triumph, his smirk aimed at Heaven and at the

"Athena!" he crowed. "Athena!"

"Athena!" echoed the crowd. "Athena! Athena!"

Asamiya Athena was no more.

Before them was the Goddess Herself.

Pallas Athena.


	26. Justice Arc 03: Justice The Justice

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**  
Justice Arc**

Last Of Three Parts

**  
Justice The JUSTICE**

**  
**Once upon a time, there was a Gear. Her name was Justice.

Crimson flame adorned her head. Adamantine armor clad her body in an indestructible shell of blue and white. Her hand is the sword of the Archangel Michael, the blade that severs the threads of reality. Her wings call forth a blaze hotter than the sun, a fire that burns Heaven and scorches Earth. She was once the greatest enemy of humankind, the embodiment of nightmares, a dream gone horribly wrong. Now she is one of its greatest protectors.

She is the Command Gear, Type Zero One, most powerful of all her kind all save for only three.

She is the Justice.

She is Justice.

**  
**The portal spewed them into the midst of war.

There were soldiers everywhere. Most were in the battle dress of A Country Marines. Others were Mithril commandos and Arm Slaves pilots, even a few Zepp troops. All were armed to the teeth and bore bleak looks. It was hard not to see why. Manmade thunder was in the works. Airships circled the sky like predatory birds, discharging their payloads of death. Batteries of artillery cannons and multiple rocket launchers added their own terrible voices. Arm Slaves and Destroids, walking hydras of gun tubes and missile racks, ground forward shoulder-to-shoulder. Their target was a huge bubble dome thirty miles ahead, an energy shield whose diameter equaled that of a large city.

There to meet them was Tessa Testarossa. Accompanying the silver-haired Mithril commander was Metal Slug operative Fio Germi and SeeD member Selphie Tilmitt. Tessa wasn't armed. Her _meganekko_bodyguard fixed that. Fio carried a .357 Magnum revolver, a machine gun, lots of grenades, a Ka-Bar commando knife and her monster Tank Slug (all courtesy of Nik Hasta Arms, Unlimited). She looked like she could guard all of Greece by herself. The sunny Selphie was less imposing, being dressed in a cute yellow sundress and armed with only a _nunchaku_. But she was the only magic user in the allied ranks, a powerful one– but not the only one in the area.

"Rheo, Rei, Justine, good to see you've made it here." Tessa was the battlefield commander of this multinational military force.

Rheo did not waste time with frivolities. "What's happened here?"

"A cult had taken over Athens. They're holding the Athenian civilians hostage and have deployed a barrier to keep us out. Selphie says the barrier is supernatural in nature. It's very tough. Since we can't crack it, we've cordoned the city to keep the cult from escaping."

"Good work, Tessa-_san_. Please issue a hold order to your men. We can't risk any of our conventional weaponry hitting the city and killing innocents."

"Understood." Tessa spoke tersely into her Codec. The occasional firing died down. The following silence was eerie.

All eyes fell on Rheo Farren.

He was but a few miles from the dome shield. How he got there so quickly and without anyone noticing was beyond reason. One moment, he was right beside Justine; the next heartbeat, he was in the very face of the enemy.

His black eyes were distant. He heard not the hushed roar of a thousand whispers behind him or the supernatural hum of the barrier before him. Instead, he heard the voice of his mother.

**"Listen carefully, Rheo. We have to get inside ****Athens**** at once, or all is lost. You will have to destroy the shield. Use _The Will And The Word_. But be careful. The city and the people inside must not be harmed."**

"Yes, Mother."

**"Remember not to tax yourself too much."**

"Yes, Mother."

The Gear simulacrum gathered in his Will in preparation for his superhuman effort. An expectant hush fell upon the gathered soldiers.

Justine was there, Rei immediately behind. "Mind if we keep an eye on you?" the redhead asked off-handedly as she came to a stop on his right side.

"Of course not." Then, slyly, he added: "Sister."

She grinned at him. He smiled back.

"Ready," Rei murmured. She spoke for them all.

She and Justine braced themselves as Rheo unleashed _The Will And The Word_.

The unstoppable force of his Will crashed into the immovable shield. The ground before and around Athens buckled. The resultant shockwave was a massive backlash of force that spread outwards, shaking the Earth in its passing. This rolling thunder shook airships, knocked down mecha and sent men flying.

Rei's AT Field stood firm against this storm. Behind their shelter, Rheo focused his Will into a keen edge. Instead of attempting to batter down the whole shield, he concentrated upon a precise area in a piercing strike. Whatever it was that sustained the shield, it was forced to match his tactic. That weakened it overall.

Eldritch white magic coursed around them; Selphie had just buffed them with Protect and Shell. Beside Rheo, Justine activated her Gear Wings. Despite running the risks of a fatal overheat, the Gear girl triggered a continuous Angel Laser. Then Tessa ordered a supporting barrage. Behind and around the embattled trio, aircraft and men and mecha let their darker alter egos loose. Weapons fire flared into life all around the dome. Flaming pile driver strokes hammered the faltering shield.

Yet, for a moment, it held fast.

And then, even those without any sort of power felt the invisible surge that flowed into Rheo. Hundreds of miles above, in the cold vastness of space, Yuuki Darren joined her resolve with that of her creation. Together, mother and son sent their combined Wills into the recalcitrant obstacle before them.

Under their attack, the shield slowly cracked.

"Cease fire!" Tessa tersely ordered. She could not afford a single stray artillery shell breaching the shield and hitting the innocent civilians. The impressive discipline of the various soldiers showed as they immediately followed orders. Even Justine stopped. Only Rheo kept attacking.

Then the shield shattered.

The Gear simulacrum sagged to his knees, almost totally exhausted. Justine caught him before he completely fell. The boy weighed not a bit. He had emptied himself of everything in order to complete his mission. The idea of his dying frightened his sister. Cradling him in her arms, she repeatedly called his name.

"Rheo! Rheo! Are you okay?"

And despite his exhaustion, he actually smiled at him.

"Yes. Yes, I am."

On the verge of tears, all Justine could do was to hug him.

**  
**AyanamiRei watched the approaching figure with no more emotion as she gave most things in this world. That did not mean she was not wary of it. She was silent but watchful. Rei was one of Rheo's many protectors. Like she had once done for Ikari Shinji, she was willing to give up her life to protect her current ward.

_Don't worry. You won't die. I'll be protecting you._

"Rheo. Justine."

Both Gears looked up.

Beneath the harmless snowfall of dispelled energy particles, the three friends watched the approaching figure stop.

Justine gasped.

Asamiya Athena stood before them.

The Japanese girl was barely recognizable. Her overall look was that of a hoplite, an armored foot soldier of the ancient Greeks. Burnished armor clad her lithe form from head to toe. Her right hand bore a golden-tipped spear. Her left hand carried a huge shield covered in white cloth. A short sword was strapped to her side. The fierce golden helm revealed only her eyes and nose and mouth. The look in her eyes was not friendly.

Justine missed that. She was so happy to find her friend that she forgot her circumstances and rushed forward. Her equally astonished and quire exhausted companions did not quite manage to stop her.

"'Thena! Thank goodness you're okay! I'm really sorry that I left you in a hurry!" She then remembered something. "Hey, what are you doing here, anyway? There's a war going on here! You don't want to be caught in the middle of it!"

Athena did not reply.

Justine slowly froze.

"'Thena?"

"Choose."

"Eh?"

"Choose." She was cold and monotonous and utterly inhuman. "Bow down before your Goddess – or die."

Speechless, Justine stared at the nightmarish apparition that was once her friend.

And then Athena's spear leapt out of her hitherto motionless hands.

"Justine!"

Rheo's call saved her life. Justine snapped out of her trance. A red armored fighting gauntlet stopped the strike cold. Realization dawned upon the redhead girl. She had to fight her friend. She did not want to, but she had to.

As she was swept into this unwanted battle, she wept.

Overall, Justine was a formidable warrior despite her appearance. Her preferred form amongst humans was unarmed and unarmored. The only evidence that she could fight at all was the pair of red martial arts fighting gloves she had worn ever since awakening. But her apparent defenselessness was deceptive. Unencumbered by any trappings that could slow her down in melee combat, her 'stripped-down' form allowed her unlimited freedom of movement. And she was a fearsome fighter. Being a Gear, she had superhuman strength, speed and endurance. Her body had amazing regenerative properties against physical attacks and was resistant to magic attacks, especially electrical ones. Though she was only a middling martial artist in terms of skill, her superhuman attributes more than made up for that. As with Geese Howard, if she could not defeat a foe through hand-to-hand, Justine always had the option to simply overpower her foes. That was what her Justice Mk II armor was for.

But she found herself outmatched. True, the heavily-armored Athena was still quite fast and a lot stronger physically. Her enchanted armor, just one of Hephaestus's masterpieces, was more durable than Gear skin. Yet, despite the infusion of divine power and accompaniments, she was still human.

But Justine was holding back. This wasn't an enemy before her. It was her best friend.

"'Thena! Please stop! Athena, please! I don't want to fight you!"

The Goddess wasn't in a mood to listen. Instead, she struck out with an underhanded blow of her shield. As Justine reeled back, stunned, Athena lunged forward in one fluidly smooth motion. Her spear found its mark. The enchanted stabbing blade pierced through Gear skin and flesh, into vital organs, and out her back. Then, while Justine was still impaled on the weapon, Athena used her shield hand to support her spear hand and lifted her opponent into mid-air. It was as if she was saluting heaven or offering a sacrifice–

–or serving as a lightning rod.

Her unspoken prayer was answered. A massive lightning bolt split the sky. It did not branch off as normal ones did. It went straight for Athena's upraised spear– and Justine.

Despite the Gear girl's natural resistance to electricity, it was still two million volts. Her nervous system was not just overloaded. It was fried. So was the rest of her. The harsh smell of charbroiled flesh and singed hair filled the air. Then she was smashed into the ground with tremendous force.

An unfeeling boot shoved her off the spear. A steely hiss announced that Athena had drawn her sword. The latter coolly closed in for the kill.

Helpless, badly crippled, neural networks overloaded, and heart in tatters, Justine could only lie there, bleeding, waiting for death to claim her.

The Field of Absolute Terror instilled no fear in deities. But it could stand against their wrath. Rei brought hers up to protect Justine just in time. The Goddess' sword rebounded off the soul barrier.

Athena's eyes narrowed. Her throat's rumble of displeasure lingered. She raised her sword in preparation for a mighty blow. Rei quietly braced herself against the impending attack, preparing to give up her life for her ward's new precious friend.

The rumbling remained. It wasn't coming from either of them.

The stand-off was broken by staccato roar of heavy automatic fire. A hail of bullets kicked up dust clouds all around Athena or rebounded off the cloth-covered shield. Then a large-caliber shell exploded right on the shield. Though unharmed, Athena was forced to deal with the new threat.

Fio's Tank Slug had entered the battle.

While her companions occupied the Goddess' attention, Selphie attended to Justine. A Curaga instantly repaired the Gear girl's extensive physical injuries. But Selphie had no spell that could restore morale. And Justine's was at its lowest yet.

"Why, 'Thena?" She was crying. The action was very un-Gear-like, but understandable. After all, it was the human in her that was crying. Her failure to stop her friend ground upon her. "Why? Why? Why?"

"What is your name?"

She looked up into the face of the Gear who was her sibling. The softness she adored was gone. In its place was steel forged in bloody battle, tempered by fiery experience and made so by his mission. It was the same determination evident in the blue eyes of a girl who abandoned her humanity and morality for a higher purpose; a girl who advocated Pyrrhic means that were cruel and senseless but absolutely necessary; a girl who created an army of monstrosities and let it loose upon the world; a girl who sacrificed whole countries and an entire population; a girl who drove her once-friend into murderous vengefulness and ever greater power in order to save humankind from an unnamed evil.

In that moment, Rheo Farren resembled his mother far more than the grandfather he was modeled upon. He was truly the child of That Girl.

"Rheo?"

"What is your name?" Though quietly posed, his question was a command.

"What?"

"What is your name? Tell me. Tell me what your name is."

"My name?" She struggled with her words. "My name is Justine–"

"That isn't your name. What is your name?"

"I don't understand–"

"What is your name? Who are you? Tell me. **Who are you?**"

"My name?" Justine couldn't understand. Neither could she answer straight. "My identity? I am– I am–"

**  
**_She stood in the midst of fire and slaughter. Borne in her strong arms was the limp, lifeless body of her idealistic creator. Around her were many more bodies, burnt beyond recognition. She had killed them without thinking, killed them by merely awakening. She killed them all._

_Leslie Harrier's warm blood soaked the hands of her 'child', but her daughter didn't know what it was all about._

_Despite unintentionally killing her own mother and everyone around her, this girl was still an innocent._

_Before her was a young girl. The newcomer's yellow jacket and red-orange hair somehow stood out in the dead light. Firelight gleamed off rimless aviator glasses and a small smile. Strangely, despite never having seen her before, she knew who this girl was._

_"What's your name?" the mysterious girl asked her._

_"Justine," she softly answered. Then, a moment later, she added: "Justine Harrier."_

_"Ah, yes. I can see where this leads. Justine; taken from Justice."_

_"Justice?"__ The word seemed familiar to her. "What is justice?"_

_"_You_ are Justice."_

_"Am I?"_

_"Yes, you."_

_"But what is it? What is Justice? What am I?"_

_The newcomer slowly shook her head. "Justice, I fear, is one thing I cannot teach you about."_

_"I want to know what justice is," she pressed. "I want to know what I am– _who_ I am."_

_"You do?"_

_Her eyes were firm. "Yes."_

_Knowing the storm her answer would unleash, That Girl kept her peace. Then:._

_"You must seek out the man who can help you uncover it."_

_"Who is that man?"_

_"Frederick Mercury."_

_"__Frederick__? Freddy Mercury?"_

_"That was once his name. Now he goes by another name. Now he is known as Sol Badguy."_

_"Sol– Sol Badguy..."_

_"Yes. Sol Badguy. Find him. Never leave his side. Help him in whatever way you can. With his help, you will find out what justice is. With him, you will learn who you are. For our sake, too, just as well as yours."_

_"Yes." She nodded. "I will look for him. I will find Mister Badguy."_

_As she spoke, her blue eyes shone._

_"I will learn who I am."_

**  
Who am I? What is my name?**

**My name is Justine? Am I Justine?**

**No.**

**I am–**

**  
**She stood up. Everything around her stopped to look. But she had eyes only for the boy who saved her from despair and destruction. And in that moment, she loved him utterly.

"My name is Justice," she told him. And as she spoke –and just like when she had first begun her journey to find herself– her blue eyes shone.

"I am Justice."

Her own battle armor materialized. Blue and white plating, shielded against extreme stress and heat; micro-actuators and hydraulics reinforcing her already prodigious strength; sleek shoulder pods laden with vernier thrusters and her most powerful weapon; the sinister yet beautiful helm, its lines combining those of a jet aircraft and a racing swallow. She floated upon her own power. Her breath was a steely hiss. She was again the killing machine that redefined her name.

She was again Justice.

Rei lowered her AT Field and stepped aside. Fio pulled back a circumspect distance. Selphie did not cast any magical spells or buffers. And Rheo simply watched.

This battle was between Athena and Justine.

The Goddess was wary of this new foe. Nowhere was the defeated entity of earlier.

Before her, Justine/Justice breathed.

_"What is this? What is this mysterious feeling?"_

_It is **justification**._

What followed was a slugfest. Neither fighter held back. They were equally matched. Divine steel clashed upon neo-ceramic alloy. Pallas Athena was using every weapon at hand and casting every spell she could. Fire-breathing chimera and monstrous raptorial birds came into being and instantly attacked. Jagged lightning split the sky and struck the ground with tremendous force. Justine retaliated with her own arcing electricity, fiery tracking grenades, blades that severed reality and destructive blasts of pure atomic energy.

And she had something her opponent didn't have. She had a will to win. Whatever was controlling Athena was only interested in asserting dominance over others. It was a selfish entity. Unlike it, Justine wanted to win for so many reasons: To save her friend, to protect other people, to realize and affirm her identity.

And to live with Rheo Farren for the rest of her life…

Her drive made all the difference. She was winning. Bit by bit, Justine pushed Athena back.

Michael Blade cut the spear in half. Grenade broke the hastily-redrawn sword. Imperial Ray scorched armor. Strike Back Tail knocked Athena down. Shedess struggled to bring her shield up, but succeeded only partially before Michael Sword was at her throat.

_"Surrender,"_ Justine ordered. Her voice was harsh and metallic due the helmet's respirator and her own choice. _"You have been disarmed. Further resistance will only result in your destruction."_

It was all she could do not to give in to her killing urge. Her memories of Rheo and Athena won over her other nature, the nature long dead.

Athena –or the entity that controlled her– glowered.

For a moment, Justine– but she did not fear or doubt.

Then the Goddess averted her eyes. "I surrender."

Beneath the visor, Justine nodded. She deactivated her armor and reverted to her human form. Then she allowed herself a long sigh.

_It's over. Finally, it's over._

"Justine! Look out!"

This time, Rheo's call of warning came too late. It was also phrased the wrong way.

Athena did have a weapon at hand. She brought her battered shield up to her foe's face and yanked off its cloth cover. There was a head fastened upon it. Its scalp bore a writhing mass of snakes for hair. Its face was hideous. It made true the whimsy "If looks could kill." Because the look on this thing _could_ kill– could and did.

It was the head of Medusa the Gorgon, the monster whose terrible visage could turn men to stone.

And Justine was staring directly at it.

She was frozen, rooted in place. Slowly, her magical nature resisting the forced change in her physiology and chemical make-up all the way, she finally turned into gray stone.

Everyone gasped.

And Rheo screamed.

His scream smote the battlefield and hammered all into the ground. It reached his fatigued mother in space. It reached a certain dark girl nearby. It rippled the black waters of that forgotten pond half a world away. It shook _The World Within And Without._

Most of all, it reached a certain super battleship Author that could have– **_should_** have been there.

And as he screamed, he forgot all about his mother's warnings about exerting himself and controlling his power and the sanctity of life. He threw his arm outward and released his Will through it in a Word-less howl.

Athena was hurled backwards by the violent discharge of human fear and superhuman fury. Rheo did not stop. His angry outpour became a titanic torrent of otherworldly power. He had but one single purpose: the destruction of the entity that killed Justine Harrier.

Medusa's head disintegrated beneath this relentless tide of might. The shield followed a heartbeat later. And then the full force of Rheo's will smashed into Athena. It flung her aside as if she was a rag doll caught in a torrent of whitewater. Her armor buckled upon impacting the ground. So did she herself. Staggered to near-insensibility by the stupendous blow, as helpless as her foe mere minutes ago, Athena could only stare up at the vengeful figure towering before him.

But he wasn't angry anymore. Not one ounce of killing power flowed out of him now. Instead, there were only tears and choked sobs.

"I love her."

Ignoring Athena and everyone else, he staggered to the statue that was once Justine and hugged it. He rested his face upon her cold breast and searched futilely for the warmth that she once possessed. Failing to find it, he still clung to her tight. And he confessed his heart's contents.

"Despite whom we are and what we are," he freely admitted, "Despite all that: "I love her.

His tears washed upon that gray stone.

"I love her."

"Me, too," a familiar voice answered him. "Me, too…"

Surprised, Rheo fell back. Before him, the statue burst into light.

Not one square inch was gray stone. Instead, she shone. She was radiance personified. Undone, her long red hair flew wild in a plasma wind. She blazed bright.

Justine smiled. "Missed me?" she asked.

His happy answer was to throw himself onto her. Despite herself, she gently disengaged his arms from around her waist. But her smile was pleasant and promising.

"I've got one last thing to do first," she told him "Then we can be as familiar with each other as we want to be."

"I understand." He stepped back for her.

There was no time or space to shed tears. There were tears, but the salty water was only vaporized by her power. All the humanity she could allow herself was a faint "I'm sorry."

Then she launched her new Destroy Move, an instant collapsing of a human's heart with a combination of deadly force, magical energy and precision delivery.

**"SHEER HEART ATTACK!"**

But she wasn't aiming for Athena's heart.

Justine was aiming for the core of the armor that controlled her friend.

Her fist was steel. The energy that buoyed and wrapped it was adamantine. She was the driving force behind both, herself and the love of a certain Gear relative of hers.

Though forged by Hephaestus out of strong materials and strengthened by divine power, Athena's armor was of this World. And all that walked this World –whether human or divine or Gear or even Author– passed. Already driven to the edge by Justine's earlier attacks and Rheo's subsequent assault, the armor could no longer stand this final blow. Ethereal seams broke open. It tore free of its wearer and flew apart.

Left in the center of that storm of metal and magic was Athena herself. The girl was pasty white. Drained, she tottered upon her feet and promptly collapsed. Justine caught her before she hit the ground.

"You're safe now, 'Thena," she told the unconscious girl. "You're safe with me."

At her request, Rheo took her unconscious friend aside. Free of her burden, Justine stood strong and proud. Magnificent wings of light leapt from her back and spread themselves to their full hundred-foot span. Their brilliance astonished their surroundings. They glowed as fiercely as her blue eyes.

She aimed at the clump of discarded armor, the aegis shield that bore Medusa's head, the spear and sword. She aimed for the trappings of a would-be Goddess.

**"ANGEL LASER! GAMMA RAY MODE ONE!"**

She did not stop until all of it was reduced to useless slag.

Wings vanished. Brightness receded. Energy tapered off.

Victorious, she stood still and silent. And all she could say as a fitting epilogue was truly strange and meant only for herself– and for the boy she loved.

"We're not related."

**  
**The old man was preparing for escape. The fireplace was stuffed with incriminating documents. His bags were packed with priceless treasures and bank notes. He had no interest in fighting Justice, not after the latter had just defeated his Goddess. Instead, he would escape. But to where? His superiors would not look kindly upon his failure. They would take appropriate measures to protect themselves and their interests. And that meant his elimination as a possible witness.

The Post-War Administration Bureau had little tolerance for failure.

The sound of footsteps behind him announced that justice of a different sort had caught up with him.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here."

The doorway framed Four Murasame. She looked jolly and content.

"Running away, old man? You'll miss the party if you do."

The old man raised his staff as if to cast a spell.

**"Magic Archer!**** Eleven consecutive shots!"**

Eleven bolts of brilliant magic broke that offending staff into kindling. They also broke the man's hand in four different places. He howled in pain.

Four's beaming smile was just as bright as the magical attack. "Perfect timing, Negi-_sensei_! A tad overdone and quite unnecessary, though. Still: _domou__ arigatou gozaimasu_!"

The boy wizard grimaced. Negi Springfield still could not get over the idea of his being beholden to this dark girl. One day, he was minding his own business as an English teacher in Mahora Gakuen; the next, he was being forced to follow the crazy wishes of this black-haired maverick. Of course it against his will. His new 'mistress' possessed certain damning pictures involving him and many girls. Blackmail was quite an effective prod.

Sure, he was planning escape. (Revenge was out of the question; she was too strong and he was too kind.) Four expected that. It was all right, too. She wouldn't have found a placid puppy as fun to handle as a rapacious pit bull.

Speaking of the cutesy devil:

"You're a very mean man, you know." Her grin was infectious and sugary poison. "You're even meaner than I am. And I am a mean person, you know."

"I thought you and That Girl were enemies," the old man whimpered. "I thought you were the enemy of Sheo Darren."

Four laughed. "Does it really seem that way? I'd admit that Yuuki-_chan_ and I could never work out our differences in public. But we're not enemies. Quite the opposite. And," she added in a deadly low tone, "You're very mistaken about me and Sheo."

Fearful, the old man swallowed what little saliva remained in his suddenly dry mouth.

And Rheo Farren walked into the room.

He was exhausted. The only thing keeping him on his feet was his iron Will and the supporting shoulder of Ayanami Rei. Then his eyes and Four's met.

The two parties stared at each other.

Negi gulped.

For a moment, the old man hoped the ensuing battle would allow him to escape.

And then Rheo smiled.

"Hello, Four-_obaa__-san_," he greeted "How have you been?"

"Just swell, Rheo-_kun_." Four smiled back. "Just swell."

And just like that, the old man knew he was dead.

"No," Four placidly but scarily corrected, reading his mind quite clearly, "Not quite."

**  
**The 'real' Battle for Athens was over before it really began. The defeat of their Goddess and their leader's capture had disheartened the cultists. All that was needed to hasten their surrender was a show of force. Two thousand angry Marines, a hundred mecha and a host of heavily-armed aircraft flying low overhead was more than enough. The only damage to the city was all the garbage. The crisis' perpetrators were put to poetic justice by being made to clean up their trash before incarceration.

Rheo and Rei found Justine seeing off a Red Cross aerospace ambulance ship. The sedated Athena was aboard and headed towards proper medical attention. Tessa, Selphie and Fio were there as well.

After brief greetings to the three girls, Rheo made straight for his distant-seeming sister. "How is she?" he asked. "Miss Athena, I mean?"

"She's out of danger. Her wounds will take time to heal, but there's nothing to worry about anymore."

"That's good to hear."

"Thanks."

"By the way," he added, "We caught the ringleader. We'll be interrogating him for answers."

She wondered about that. "Will it make a difference?"

"Of course. It makes all the difference."

Both Gears watched the ambulance ship rocket towards the Death Star. As they did so, their hands met and clasped together tightly.

"You meant what you said earlier, right?" she asked.

"Hmm?"

"You know– the part where you professed your love for me?"

"Of course I did. Would I mean it otherwise?"

"Never. Oh, and Rheo?"

"Yes, Justine?"

She kissed him full on the lips then. After a moment's surprise, he reciprocated. They broke world records while at it. They made everyone watching them blush.

When they broke off, Justine was sporting a foxy smile.

"We're not related."

**  
End of Justice Arc**


	27. Second Interlude: A Girl And Her Boy

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

Warning: sheer bombardment of sweet fluff towards the ending. Beware, Lone Wolf-_san_. Avoid gushing excessively despite your yearnings. I know _I_ gushed a lot over it, and I'm the one writing this. Enjoy.

**  
Second Interlude**

**  
A Girl And Her Boy**

**  
**Negi Springfield was in a funk.

He was just a kid, only a mere ten years old despite being a wizard in all but official records and a registered English teacher at an all-girls middle school in Japan. As such, his childlike thinking and proneness to panic fits was understandable. Negi was even more naïve and easily flustered than the absent Author of this fan fiction World. He was also just in still-soggy boxers and a warm coat given to him by a kindly hobo who didn't seem to act quite right for a hobo.

A girl was the cause of all his trouble. That was a special talent of women, inflicting sweet suffering upon the male half of the population. The ultimate expression of this was marriage. To paraphrase Chris Rock: "If you never wanted to murder someone, then you'd never been in love!"

Four Murasame was evil. There was no question about it. She was the fly in the soup, the flu during the holiday season, the man eating crunchy food and voicing out spoilers during a suspense thriller. A one-girl Dragoon Society, she raised havoc throughout the entirety of _The World Within And Without_ by merely being there. And she could do a lot worse. Example: she kidnapped Negi from his rowdy but happy teaching post at Mahora Gakuen and forced him to be her personal toy. And she was the kind of person who broke her toys all too frequently.

For example –and just recently–, there was the fountain incident that was the source of Negi's current unhappy disposition and undress.

**  
**They were engaged in a little tug of war. She dragged him by the arm. He tried to pull away from her. Sure, Four was head and shoulders taller and had four years on him. But Negi had magically-enhanced strength that should have been more than enough to break free from this elfin waif. And yet she proved much stronger. In fact, she was impossibly strong, stronger than people twice her age and four times her size and weight; as strong as that other, equally brutal redhead _meganekko_ whom he'd met before in equally unfortunate circumstances.

If he didn't know better, Negi would suspect that Four Murasame and Yuuki Darren were related.

"_Hayaku__, hayaku_, Negi-_kun_! Let's have some fun!"

"Hey! I'm not some kid you can just drag from the Toys Section of a department store, you know!"

"No pirating of lines! Besides, you need a bath! You're all stinky and dirty!"

Truth be told, he did need one. The thing was that Negi hated baths. At least, he _had_ hated them. Necessity, local custom in Japan and the bullying Kagurazaki Asuna changed his mind. He'd learned bathing could be fun. It was especially true in Japan. The hot springs alone were wonderful. (A lot of the associated memories were not– at least for Negi.)

But they were somewhere in Europe. Where were they going to find a bathing area? Much less, find a proper hot spring?

The fountain was the city square's center of attention and a popular rendezvous for tourists and couples. It was the size and depth of a circular kiddy swimming pool. Beautiful stone sculptures cavorted in the middle of its gushing geysers, paired effigies of lovers following the Greco Roman tradition, all lifelike and gorgeous– and very nude.

(It could have been worse. The statues could have all been of men.)

Negi immediately covered his eyes and began his mental mantra.

_I'm not looking, I'm not looking, I'm not looking…_

"Oh, don't be such a prude!" chirruped Four. "It's exactly what we need!"

And before he knew it, she grabbed him and dumped him headfirst into the fountain.

He came up sputtering with a quick "Why me?" Four landed beside him. Before he knew it, she was tugging off his clothes. She was very quick and took advantage of his being in a daze and normally helpful. When she got to his pants, though, Negi finally realized what was happening and began to frantically fight her off.

"Augh! Stop it!"

"What's wrong, Negi-_kun_? Don't tell me you have just an average sized one like Hideki-_kun_?"

"I don't know what you're talking about! And I don't care! Just don't touch me!

"I don't remember you telling off Kagurazaki-_chan_ back then–"

"That was different!"

"Oh, so you liked _that_?"

"NO! GO AWAY!"

Curious passers-by slowed to watch the bout of strip wrestling and its accompanying argument. By the time Four had reduced Negi to his boxers, their audience had become a crowd. Everyone was murmuring. None of the comments were complimentary. Most were reproachful. Some were dirty. And those didn't include the fan boys and fan girls lurking somewhere nearby, not yet. If they ever got wind of this–

Like Hiiragizawa Eriol from Sheo's CCS fan fic _Hot_, Negi was never going to live this down.

A negligent exertion of her Will produced a loofa sponge and a bottle body shampoo. Her own strong hands supplied the scrubbing. In mere minutes, Negi look liked a snowman made out of detergent suds. He found it embarrassing. But, he had to admit, her ministrations were _very_ soothing. Four never missed a spot and was an excellent masseur. In fact, it would have been a nicer experience if she just used her bare hands and ran them all over him–

He caught himself in mid-thought. _Eh? What the–_

The fountain burped forth a geyser that drenched the both of them. Four happily squealed at the deluge. He had to smile at her cuteness. She looked younger than she already was, a wet _nekomimi_ girl with cat ears and swishy tail. He'd forgotten that evil girls could be cute. Like his student Evangeline McDowell. And Eva wasn't really evil. Yes, she was angry at being dumped by the Thousand Master, but she was also a good person. It showed. She went easy on Negi during their duels and even grudgingly taught him some new tricks.

So maybe Four wasn't evil, too. His conclusion was a very big leap of faith. But he'd done it before. So he tried a small smile of gratitude for starters.

His blush began when he finally noticed that her wet dress clung to her petite frame a bit too scandalously. Lucky for him, it was the kind of black that didn't go transparent when soaked. But the body it garbed wasn't bad. Four was just fourteen (or at least appeared that old). She wasn't a Lovely Kyoto Visit Babe –read: big chest and sexy figure–, would never be. Her 'assets' would fall under 'modest' and 'still developing'. The best comparison would be Miyazaki Nodoka.

Again he caught himself in mid-thought. _Hey! Why am I comparing Nodoka and Four? I'm not Chamo!_

A small plop accompanied the wet object deposited in his hands. Thankful for a distraction he could look at instead of Four's body, he shifted his attention.

His heart nearly stopped.

It was the sponge.

He looked at it, then at Four. His look was rhetorical. Her answering smile was radiant and very scary.

"Your turn, Negi-_kun_," she sweetly said.

He managed to do three things simultaneously: blush, gulp and stare.

_This is not good…_

So was not repaying her favor. Negi was a good and proper English gentle-boy. Debts were meant to be paid.

But she was asking him to bathe her. She was asking him to wash her in all the wrong places. That was wrong!

And he was the one who would be initiating it. That was even more wrong!

In his mind, _onee__-san_ Nekane was preaching in a knowledgeable manner that did Ciel proud.

**  
_"That's right, Negi. Seeing or touching a girl's no-no parts, seeing nude girls, undressing and bathing nude girls, molesting girls (undressed or not), polygamy, incest, ridiculously bad harem anime, ridiculously bad harem anime with no plot at all, and 75 of so-called "rap music" is wrong. Any of these will land you into the depths of eternally divine punishment."_**

**  
**_Hey! Wait a minute! Sister never said anything like that!_

All the while, Four was smiling beatific. Gathering what little courage he had gained from his year at Mahora Gakuen, Negi managed to nod in assent.

"What a nice boy you are, Negi-_kun_. My back first, please."

He took a tentative step towards her. The first small step forward into terror was followed by another, and then a few more, until he was close enough to actually breathe her in. Her scent hinted of a paradoxical being that was predictably unpredictable, logically illogical. All the while, his mentally recited mantra served to keep him on track.

_I'm not looking. I'm not looking. I'm not looking._

He noticed only now that her sundress was held in place by spaghetti straps. The arrangement left the upper portion of her back bare. That merited a modification.

_I _am_ looking, but I don't mean anything bad. I don't mean anything bad. I just want to bathe her. I'm going to undress her and wash her naked body–_

He suppressed a groan. Some kid he was. Some proper Welsh gentleman, too. Here he was, about to undress and bathe a girl. If that didn't qualify as sexual harassment, then what did? Not that he himself hadn't been harassed in the same manner he was about to molest–

He gave up. Consigning his poor soul to whatever punishment he would receive in the next life, Negi hesitantly reached out to undo one of the spaghetti straps.

And that was when Four suddenly shrieked and backhanded him.

"Kiyah! Negi-_kun_, _dame_! You'll cause a scandal!"

His failure to complain or answer immediately told her something was wrong– that and the splash of red on her hand.

Negi was clutching his face. Blood ran down his hands, painted his face most grotesquely.

Four had accidentally broken his nose.

He was staring at her most unhappily. His huge blue eyes were full of tears. He had thought he finally understood her. He had believed she wasn't as bad as everyone made her out to be. He'd even dared that they could really be friends. But he'd allowed himself to be naïve and stupid. She just proved herself to be as bad as the rest of them– even worse. She was an irrational, violent, uncaring person who delighted in hurting good people.

He couldn't stand the sight of her. He hated her for being herself. And he hated himself for thinking that she could be someone other than herself.

Negi ran away.

And Four was left in the cold shower of the fountain.

And she felt all alone.

**  
**Negi was nursing his still-sore nose when he came upon the man.

He was seated on a bench and feeding pigeons. The birds were acting oddly. Whole flocks would all but mob their feeders. Not this time. They kept a wary distance from the man despite the generous hunks of bread tossed in their direction. Only when he had moved on did they peck at the delectable morsels. And even then, they looked like they were keeping wary eyes on him.

The man himself _was_ a bit odd. At first glance he looked old, what with all of his hair being a snowy white. When he turned his face, though, Negi saw that the whiteness was only true for the left half. The other half was a glossy black. His eyes were blacker still, but with a hint of hidden, sinister crimson in their depths. Those eyes locked onto the boy's own red-brown ones.

"Tell me something, kid," the man asked all of a sudden.

Negi blinked. "Excuse me, sir, but are you talking to me?"

"Yeah, you. Tell me something. What's so gratifying about this?"

"About what?"

"About why feeding pigeons in the park on a Sunday morning, that's what."

The question's simplicity stupefied Negi. He'd never thought of it before. All he could mumble was, "I don't know."

The man let out a small, harsh bark of laughter. "Bah. This is all a waste." Then he threw the remaining half of the bread loaf he held at the nearest pigeon.

It wasn't quite fast enough, being busy nibbling at a tasty crumb. It did make an icky sound when it got squished. The rest of its brethren scattered into the air– only to suddenly bloat up and pop like pricked balloons. There was no blood or guts, though; only a rain of blue-gray feathers and powdered bread.

Negi stared in horror at the 'massacre'. The man, however, swore under his breath. "That wuss," he growled. "Can't even have the slightest blood and gore in this dumb place of his. I've got me work set for me here."

"You killed them!" the horrified boy accused. All he got was a smirk.

"Yes, Your Honor, I did."

"You're a very bad man!"

The man shrugged. "I'm practical. There's a lot of useless stuff in Sheo's World: pigeons, daisies, Sunday mornings, little old ladies feeding pigeons and smelling daisies on Sunday mornings. I'm just cleaning up."

His intended audience wasn't listening. Negi was halfway through the incantation for Magic Archer. But the man just walked over to him and roughly poked him on the forehead. The 'attack' broke his concentration. The spell he was casting fizzled. When he tried to begin anew, the man poked him again and again.

Finally, he had had enough. Negi reacted like any normal little boy would when bullied. He yelled: "Leave me alone!"

"Right. Ye remind me of another wuss like you. The both of ye whine and whine, but ye don't do anythin' 'bout it. Yer even worse. Least Sheo's got a little backbone courtesy _moi_ and me stupid brother. But ye don't. That girl of yers has ye completely twisted 'round her pinky."

"Just because I'm walking alone during a beautiful Sunday morning doesn't mean I have problems or that a girl is the cause of them!"

"Oh, and just 'cause I look old and am out this Sunday morning makes me a fountain of sagely wisdom?"

"On how to kill pigeons?" Negi was uncharacteristically angry. "I'd say 'Yes'!"

And then the man actually applauded his outburst. "That's better. You're learning cynicism. A little crude, perhaps, but I suppose it's just fine for a kid."

"Your English appears to have improved as well," Negi snapped back.

"You're learning." His smile was sinister. "Well, here's my advice."

And despite his own opinions, Negi found he had to listen.

"First is: Never get caught. Do good, bad or nothing at all. Just don't get caught."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it means, dummy. Second is that women like reliable men. If you're a person who can be depended on, then you're it. And that's it," he finished.

"That's it?" repeated a dumbfounded Negi.

"That's it." Then the man blithely walked past him as if Negi never existed.

"Hey!" The boy would have run after him had not his very soul been screaming at him otherwise. He did dare one thing. "At least tell me your name!"

The man did not stop walking. He did not look back. But he answered.

"Sho. Tsuzuku Sho."

Then he was gone.

And Negi began to wonder what he had gotten into.

**  
**"It's nice to have you here, Yuuki. It's been a long time."

"I agree, Lone Wolf-_san_. It's been a long time."

Yuuki Darren set her teacup down and sighed. Life was good. Next to her was her beloved Loki. Across the table was her friend Lone Wolf NEO. Beside _him_ was his fiancée Takane Hibiki, the quietly attentive and most excellent hostess of this little gathering. The tea was superb; the cakes, slices of paradise. God was in His Heaven. All was right with his World.

Their premise was official business. The truth was that it had been quite a long time since they had seen each other. It was not that they didn't want to. They were, and remained, very good friends. But their Worlds were very far apart and their duties taxing. It was hard maintaining a close correspondence when some crazy megalomaniac wasn't trying to kill them all.

A few days had passed since the Athens crisis. Since her World was relatively quiet and attended to by competent surrogates, Yuuki decided that a visit on her part was long overdue. She took Loki along but left Rheo in charge of _TWWAW_. Her 'son' didn't mind as he had a certain redhead Command Gear girl to spend his days with. Yuuki was the first to admit Rheo and Justine did look quite good as a pair. Recent sightings of that crazy Romancer girl from Sheo's other fan fiction World confirmed that.

So here she was, enjoying wonderful tea and chitchatting with good friends in weather that was far better than back home. "Tell me something, Lone Wolf-_san_." Her blue eyes were alight with mischief. "I've noticed that the villains in your world all like to announce their intentions several days in advance. Zofeah, the Iron Fuhrer and the Dragoon Society; everyone did it. Would you have any idea as to why?"

The lone wolf of author's world coughed. "That's because they take time to get the ball rolling. They might have a devious overall master plan, but they lack details," he elaborated. "Putting it simply, they're amateurs."

"Indeed." And that was weighty opinion. Yuuki herself played the villain role for Sol Badguy and much of _The Wedding Night_. She wasn't That Girl for nothing. She knew what the job was all about and everything it entailed. (That included having dear daddy Sheo standing in for her during the in-game video sequences. After all, the villain was thought to be That _Man_, not That _Girl_.)

"Correction," Lone Wolf interrupted, "Zofeah wasn't exactly a villain. He was just… misguided."

"I know." A new thought occurred. "How is Alex?"

He shook his head. "Not good. He seems to have suffered selective memory loss due to the injuries he received when he fell from that cliff. We've done what we can, but it will take more than that to get him back to his normal frame of mind. Even with Dizzy helping him," and here he sighed, "I doubt he'll have his memory back. Do you think," and here the Author's eyes took on a hopeful look, "That _The Will And The Word_ can heal him?"

It was Yuuki's turn to break hopes. "Not in the way you're thinking, I fear. I can easily replace the damaged parts of Alex's body, but I can't return the memories he lost because of injuries to his brain. Even Sheo couldn't do that. Memories are unique to their possessor. Only the person who experienced them knows what they really are and what they represent. We can never really return or recreate them. And we would never dare replace them. Replacements are simply not the same.

"It's not that _The Will And The Word_ has limits in its power," she quietly finished. "It's that the objects we can affect have their own limits as to how far they can be pushed."

"Damn." Lone Wolf clenched his hands in bitterness. "We have so much power, and yet we can't use any of it to help our friends. Why?"

"That's the way our Worlds are, Lone Wolf-_san_. That's the way Fate is." So saying, Yuuki patted her friend's fists reassuringly. Lone Wolf couldn't help but warmly grasp her own in return.

And then Hibiki cleared her throat.

"Excuse me, Yuuki-san," the Japanese girl resentfully interjected, a disapproving glint in her eyes, "But if you don't mind letting go of Lone Wolf-san already?"

She gave the way her friend held her boyfriend's hands jealous look.

Yuuki laughed. When the blushing Lone Wolf followed her lead, though, Hibiki bopped him on the head with the _tessen_ she produced out of the thin air.

"Ouch! You're so violent, Hibiki-_chan_!"

"And you, Lone Wolf-san, are such a playboy!"

For some inexplicable reason, Mriya Falken then materialized right behind Lone Wolf and served the Author a huge glomp. The lone wolf didn't quite manage to resist the tight embrace, even while Hibiki protested the voluptuous young woman's attentions.

"Lone Wolf!" both women exclaimed, but in different tones.

Yuuki was enjoying the spectacle when wristwatch began to beep. (A fan of tried-and-tested technology, she preferred the bulkier multipurpose communicator to a nanotech Codec.) Tapping a button on the watch generated a small hologram of the caller. In this case, it was Hoshino Ruri.

"So, Ruri," Yuuki careless drawled, a little smile playing upon her face, "Would you care for Round Two of our little war?"

She meant the earlier scene in _Heart of the Melty Blood_, where the Nadesico operator/captain had actually thrown a _Baka_ at her 'boss' during an already bad day. The exchange and its potential sequel was a lively topic back at the Death Star. _Baka__ Wars Episode Five: That Girl Strikes Back_, anyone?

Thoroughly professional and immune to intimidation, Ruri calmly replied: "Another time, Yuuki-_san_. There's something I believe you need to see."

The holographic girl was replaced by a two-dimensional holographic video screen whose picture quality rivaled that of real life.

The friendly table banter was stopped cold by the sharp crack that was shattered glass. Hibiki halted in mid-bop. Lone Wolf sported a huge drop of sweat. Mriya actually shut up. And Loki almost fell back.

That Girl was angry. Her teacup was lying in pieces upon the floor. The tic on her forehead was pronounced. Her scowl was intimidating, her aura even more so. The culprit was all too obvious. On the communicator's holovid screen were two children frolicking in a fountain. The boy was mostly undressed and looked harassed. The girl had dark hair and wore a black sundress. Both were very familiar– the girl, in particular.

"When you get home," Yuuki coldly promised herself, her absent father and her object of annoyance, "You are _so_ grounded."

**  
**It was through a lucky guess that Negi found Four at the fountain. Or was it merely luck? He had felt she was there. He _knew_ that she had stayed there all day, waiting since he had left her.

Waiting for him?

Negi approached cautiously. Four showed no sign of knowing he was there. He knew better, though, and didn't trust her make-believe ignorance one bit. That was why he came in from her blind side. Then he remembered her earlier backhand and winced. The memory prompted a change of approach. Instead of 'sneaking' up on her and risking another broken nose, he simply stepped into view.

She looked sad. He wasn't sure exactly, but she looked like it. Her small body was slumped forward somewhat, chin resting upon her hands, elbows supported by her lap in turn. Her hair was an unruly black curtain that obscured her face. Certainly she made no effort to greet or acknowledge him. Was she truly depressed? Or was it all pretend again?

A small night breeze blew. Feeling cold, he wrapped the oversized coat around him tightly. His action reminded him of another stranger he had met today, a hobo who had given him the coat– and who had proven to be anything _but_ a hobo. The encounter was forever engraved in his mind as the one thing that kept him going on this uncertain path.

**  
**_Cold, hurting and miserable all at once, Negi was so depressed that he didn't notice the hobo before him until he bumped into the latter. As if he wasn't in enough trouble already. It was the last thing he needed: another enemy._

_As he was about to apologize, the hobo abruptly cut him off._

_"I don't like you."_

_Negi__ blinked. "Excuse me?"_

_"That's right." The homeless man glared daggers at him. He did not sound friendly. "I don't like you at all. In fact, I hate you."_

_The grim specter suddenly grew in stature and advanced. Alarmed, Negi fell back._

_"You're a pervert and a bad influence. You walk into girls who are half-naked or totally nude. You're ground zero for panty flashes. All that, and you're just ten years old." That last was full of spite. "No court in this world is going to lock you in jail or hang you for your crimes. In fact, you'd be the one who'd get people hanged because it'd look like you're the victim of harassment and not the suspect."_

_Black eyes flashed in anger. "Reverse harassment, my word. Well, the judge, jury and executioner present are _me_. And I know all about you. Oh, yes, I know you very well, indeed. And so I'll put an end to it all right now."_

_Negi__ found himself backed into a dead end. Terror and despair flooded him. Before him was a murderous menace. The guy was going to kill him!_

_But then his fear disappeared. It was replaced by silent acceptance. He did not want to die, but he was no longer scared of dying. Instead, he closed his eyes and waited. Strangely, his last thought was not of himself or his sister, but of Four._

_A warm, dry weight fell upon his shoulders. The early evening chill disappeared._

_He was still standing. He was still alive._

_When he opened his eyes, he found the hobo regarding him with reluctant distaste– and a slight smile. Only then did Negi realize that his tormentor was actually a young man with light brown skin, curly black hair and equivalent black eyes._

_And he wore eyeglasses like Four's– and Yuuki's._

_"She is happy with you," the young man said. "Isn't she?"_

_Negi__ stared._

_"I don't approve of you," continued the strange young man, "But I want her to be happy."_

_Negi__ stared some more._

_"Go back. Go back and stay with her. Keep her happy. As long as she's happy, I'm happy. And tell them–"_

_His eyes softened._

_"Tell them that, one day, we'll all be together again."_

_And he faded away._

**  
**"Hi," Negi said aloud.

She stood and stared at him. Her eyes were wide and questioning and red-rimmed. Had she cried while he was away? Was she sorry for hurting him? Surprised that he had returned? He wondered.

Whatever he was planning to voice out, Four cut him off when she hugged him.

That his face was again buried upon a girl's chest didn't register in his head. Neither did their position, their earlier squabble or even the brief flare of pain in his still-tender nose. However wrong their deed was, however improper their position became, they did not care. She did not care. He didn't.

"I'm back," Negi murmured.

"Welcome back," Four murmured back. "Welcome back to me."

**  
**The futon she materialized was big and soft. He was curled up beside her, his head resting upon her lap, inhaling the exotic scent of her with every breath he took. Her fingers ran through his hair, softly pranced upon his scalp. She loved playing with his hair.

"I can't sleep," he admitted.

"Why not?"

"Back home, I always slept beside my big sister Nekane. At the dorm, I slept beside Asuna because her scent resembled Sister's."

"So your sister's scent helps you sleep?"

"Yes." He colored up a bit. "It's rather childish, isn't it?"

"No, no, Negi, not at all." She smiled at his awkwardness. "I myself couldn't sleep if I wasn't beside _my_ sister."

"Your sister? Oh, you You mean–"

"Hush, darling Negi. Remember, ghosties and ghoulies only come when you name them aloud."

"Why don't you want to talk about your sister much?"

"We're supposed to be estranged."

"How did that happen?"

"It's silly. You see, my sister and I have different tastes. She's into older men. I'm a nymphomaniac."

"No!" he protested.

"But yes. And you're the proof right here."

"That's–"

But she quelled his objection with a finger upon his lips.

"Hush, dearest Negi. Just take my word for it."

He noticed then that her scent was gone. He would have been alarmed had not a familiar fragrance replaced it. It reminded him of bright peonies and green grass and cool mountain air. It reminded him of home sweet home, dearest Wales.

It was his sister's scent.

Nekane's.

When he looked up at Four, he saw his sister's face. He knew it was an illusion the girl had created. All the same, it was a wonderful one. She had done it for him., on his request He enjoyed it for long minutes that seemed like hours.

"Go back," he softly asked at last.

"But you told me you wanted your sister."

"I prefer you."

She looked a bit startled at that. Then Negi settled the issue by snuggling upon her lap. Within a minute, he was asleep.

Four digested his admission. Her thoughts rambled.

She was a girl. Negi was a boy. More to the point, he was _her_ boy.

_A girl and her boy?_

_Yes. Yes._

She smiled.

_A girl and her boy…_


	28. Makiling 01: The Lady of the Mountain

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**  
Makiling Arc**

First of Three Parts

**  
The Lady of Makiling**

**  
**She is.

Long ago, before the West ever heard or glimpsed it, before Cross or Crescent ever set upon its shores, the archipelago of islands of the 'Philippines' was home to uncountable elemental spirits. Children of Gaea, the Earth Mother, they were the chosen caretakers of the World that was their mother's physical body, tasked to nurture and protect Nature and their younger siblings, a neutral balance to the forces of both light and dark that waged eternal war since eternity began. They were given great power, but only to fulfill their duties. They were tied to the land that was their home. If the land sickened, they too sickened. If the land died, so would they.

She was amongst the mightiest of her kindred. Her home was the vast swathe of primeval forest girdling the Mountain men would later name after her. Her house was the mighty spire of stone and the lands it ruled Her friends were all who dwelt within and upon the land, animals large and small that flew and burrowed and swam and ran on two legs and four, trees and shrubs and mosses that in those old days of myth and legend opened their hearts and voices to all who would care to listen. She wielded earth magic, the purest and best kind of magic, the kind that directly drew from the planet's very heart itself. She communed with the land and all who lived upon it: plants, animals and, later, men. She was the benefactor of the early Filipinos, teacher and patroness. For a select few men, she was a lover. For one especial man, she was his loving wife.

But she was innocent as the half-Gear who would follow her ideal thousands of years later. And like the girl called Dizzy, she was the focus of dark plots. Powers outside her dominion and knowledge conspired against her. Ever spiteful of all that was not of it, the Dark hardened men's hearts against her kindness, urging them to serve their own selfishness by violating the land that was her home and the creatures that were her friends. The unknowing Spanish colonizers became their greatest asset in this subversion. Men razed the forests and pillaged the lands and killed the wild beasts that were their brothers and sisters. Men waged war upon Nature and against each other in the name of civilization and technology and progress.

And they had the gall to call themselves humans, 'like God'.

She did not understand at first. Her innocence was so great and her goodness so absolute that she did not understand why this evil was happening. And though the outrages committed against her home and her people were terrible, she dared hope for the best. She believed in reformation and redemption. She convened with murderers and defilers in the faint trust that they would see and understand her plight. As time went by, she turned to pleading with deaf ears and begging hearts of stone. In desperation and despair, she wept.

She was ignored.

Mocked. Hated.

Attacked.

It was the final straw. Her innocence was over. In its place was righteous anger that knew no bounds. She called upon the immense power that was her birthright, collected her children and what few men and women and children still harkened to her voice. She met the invaders of her home with the same force and violence they had sought to bring upon her. The battle that resulted was terrible. Dead littered the landscape. The mountain itself suffered. Amongst the carnage lay many of her dearest animal friends and many of her brave human allies– including her human husband.

But she had won. Her enemies were slain or captured. The gravest offenders, she executed. Their black souls were bound by the Dark they serve to neighboring Mount Cristobal as punishment for their failure, sentenced to haunt the slopes as shadows of evil, manifested fear who fed upon the living. The rest she cursed. The land would no longer grant men the riches it once graced them with. Men would have to break their backs merely to get enough food for a single day. And the more they tilled the Earth against its wishes in their lifetimes, the less it would give their children and children's children, until no more sustenance could be wrung from it by any means.

Then they would starve and die.

But for those few men and women who served her and survived the battle, she restored her blessings– but in secret, so that no one else could wring it away from its bearers, and with the pledge that they would forever hold her and her home and her people in high regard. For her dead husband, she brought his body with her into the heart of her emerald dream when she finally retreated from the rest of the world.

She was never seen again, save by a few blessed souls who forever silenced their lips and erased the memories of their sojourn in order to protect the frail waif with whom they had instantly fallen in love at first sight.

Now, she is one of the few faerie that remain in this modern age. She was always one of the strongest of her brethren. Her home was one of the most powerful sanctuaries in the Philippines and the World, a great well of earth magic that tapped directly into the power maintaining the Dimension. Her legends mostly kept away those who would have sought to reduce her home. Her enchantments and the descendants of her favored folk took care of the rest.

And so she remains to this day.

She is the guardian of the wild and the wilderness, preserver and protector and lover. She is reality become legend, and then made real once more.

Her name is Maria.

She is the Lady of Makiling.

**  
**April stood tall upon the summit of mighty Mount Makiling. Exhilaration buoyed her whole being. Though she was tired and grimy from a day of negotiating the grueling terrain, this reward was more than worth it. She felt like a queen. Her lungs drank deep of the clean skies while her senses bathed in the glorious sunset and the verdant dreamland she surveyed. She was on top of the world and loving it.

"Hey," a voice piped up at her. "Mind lending me a hand?"

She extended an open palm and a vibrant grin to the boy at her feet. The former was duly received. The latter was returned just as brightly.

His friend the steady anchor upon which he drew stability and support, Jack hauled himself up to April's side. Months of strenuous trekking had brought out the hidden iron in him. Their adventures forged that raw ore into tempered steel. He was now quite as home in the rugged Philippine wilderness as in the mostly-civilized streets of London. The boy's initial, painful sunburn was gone. In its place was a nice brown tan that made his blue eyes brighter than usual.

"Lovely place," he commented.

"Right," she agreed.

At first they were implacable enemies due a single mishap when they first met. They had been irreconcilable, like oil and water or cats and dogs. There was no peace between them. There was no peace in whatever place they were in.

The arduous exile to the Philippines forced them to put aside their differences and cooperate in order to stay alive. Somehow, they survived everything thrown at them– including each other. And what people survive makes them stronger.

What no one ever noted aloud is that surviving a crisis together created a bond between the people who survived it. It was the same with April and Jack. Their relationship evolved into something more than a reluctant alliance. They had to work together against the odds if they were to have any chance of winning. They had to know each other's hearts and minds like the back of their hands in order.

And they did. They learned all about each other. And they had to concede that the other was not so bad, after all.

Everything slowly began falling into place after that realization.

Though they still had their differences, their conflicts were now no longer personal but a matter of opinion. And while they still engaged in squabbles, it was much less real fighting and far more physical slapstick, a form of playing or even flirting, the way they bickered and enjoyed it while it lasted.

Because on the cold and lonely nights that always followed the most glorious days of their lives, they knew that all they had to rely upon was each other.

And so now they wandered the land together as friends.

Maybe even more?

Only God and Sheo Darren know for sure.

"I wonder? What are Jacky and Nazareth up to?"

"They're probably having fun."

**  
**Jacky stumbled over a tree root. She barely felt her ankle spraining or noted the gashes on her arms and knees. Her senses had numbed long since. Her limbs were putty. Her body was aflame with a fever. All she wanted to do was lie down and sleep. That it was death to do so didn't matter. She was so tired.

A pair of strong hands snatched her up. They held her close to his warmth. She would have struggled despite knowing safety was to be found in those arms, had she any strength left. But she didn't. Her spirit was all but gone. Her life was draining away by the second. She could only whimper to be left alone.

But he was her friend. He would not allow her to die.

Wings madly pumping, the insensible Jacky borne in his arms, Nazareth fled through the night. It was comparatively slow going compared to what he was used to. The quarter-Gear was not used to carrying more than his weight in flight. He possessed more than enough physical strength but lacked balance and practice. And he had to be careful. He did not want to drop Jacky. Not with those _things_ behind them, no.

The stuff of nightmares pursued them. The darkness was alive with the creatures. They were everywhere. They loped over the ground or burst out of the very earth, swung upon treetops and dove from the sky. Malevolent red eyes fixed upon the fleeing pair. Mouths slavered with anticipation.

Monsters.

_Aswangs._

They composed a nightmarish circus of horrors and abominations. Shriveled-limbed demon riders drove their shadowy horses onwards with whips of fire and howls that curled blood. Bat-like monstrosities clawed into the sky with a horrible beating sound like that of a huge heart. Abroad were horrid harridans that were only the upper half of a roughly human body, leathery wings upon their backs and entrails trailing in flight. Shaggy beasts that were half-horse, half-man and all of man-eating carnivore tirelessly shambled forward in sustained trots. Phantasmal entities flitted in and out of sight, in and out of mind, never really obvious but assuredly present. All lusted for flesh to fill their stomachs and warm blood to slake their thirsts.

Their pursuers were all the more terrifying because many of the creatures were so humanlike. Each and every one of them was at least vaguely human. The _aswangs_ could have perfectly passed for normal people sans the fangs and red eyes and loathsome smell. So with the _manananggals_ once returned to their immobile lower halves after a hunt. What little shreds of _humanity_ they had frightened Nazareth far more than all the inhumanity they possessed.

Yes, Gears were far more dangerous and powerful than these. But they were still the work of a _girl_ who was once but _human_. And like all of their kind, products of their creators' worst desires and nightmares they may be, but still they were works of a mere mortal.

No human could have created their hunters. No mere mortal mind was warped and wicked enough to produce these materialized nightmares. Only a deranged God could make them– that, or the Devil himself.

And Nazareth had no desire to meet such a Maker any time in his immortal life.

They were monsters. These were the children of the night. What terrible music they made.

It had begun innocently enough. A little cry sounding to their left had revealed a baby lying in a cradle of leaves and branches. Woman with mothering instinct that she was, Jacky immediately picked the poor babe up, cooing most soothingly while rocking it in her arms.

Nazareth was just beginning a warning about the sheer aura of evil practically bleeding off the 'baby' when the thing metamorphosed into a hideous horror that immediately buried its fangs into his friend's neck.

What followed was a blur. Jacky's terrified screams still rung inside his head. Nazareth distinctly remembered tearing the monster away from her. He wasn't sure, though, how it came to be in bloody pieces. Wait. He did remember. He had broken its grotesque little body with his bare hands, ripped its head off and tossed the pieces aside as if garbage. His violence barely registered upon conscience, much less consciousness. What mattered was the victim.

Blood was everywhere, sticky ochre that clung to everything. Most of it was the monster's own, a gory geyser that splattered everything within ten feet upon its decapitation. But some of it was human. Jacky was bleeding badly from the neck and shoulder. The bite wounds were bad. The creature's fangs were small but needle-sharp and well-aimed. Perhaps a vein had been punctured.

He had done what he could for her, bound the wound as tightly as he dared with his limited knowledge of medicine, before moving onwards in search of a proper healing facility. It became quickly obvious that the creature' bite was poisonous. Jacky slowly slipped into feverish delirium.

Then the call had sounded.

Ululating, it echoed across timbers and grass, washed upon them like cold water. The hackles on Nazareth's back rose.

The hunt had begun.

**  
**It found Jack and April at a small waterfall. At first they did not detect it, for such was its oneness with the forest that was its home that it could have been invisible had it chosen so. But it meant to be heard and noticed by the two humans. And so, slowly, it made itself known.

Jack was standing guard while April was taking a shower under the waterfall. At least he was standing guard half the time. The other half was spent sneaking peeks at his bathing companion. April didn't mind, planning to get even with him later when it was his turn.

Both teens heard it then. Jack spun around, shotgun at the ready. A moment later, the curious April stuck her head through the curtain of water that continuously drenched her.

"Jack? You hear that?"

"Yeah, I do."

It was a song.

It drifted in from the forest that surrounded them, its source untraceable and undetectable but its presence unmistakable. The melody was soft and slow and haunting. It beckoned to them, called to the two of them. To Jack, especially, who found himself enthralled. He got up on his feet and started

"Where do you think you're going?" April demanded.

"Where else? I'm going to follow that song."

"Haven't you learned anything from watching horror movies? That's always the way the monster lures its victims!"

"They weren't properly armed. I have my partner."

He pumped his shotgun.

April sighed. "Testosterone-driven alpha males. Can't think past their guns, both big and small. At least wait until I've dried up and dressed," she grumbled.

"You're going, too?"

"Do I have a choice? You have the only weapon for miles, but lack the sense to use it." She made to step out from the waterfall, but noticed that Jack was grinning in anticipation and realized what he was waiting for.

"Turn around," she ordered grimly.

"Hmm?"

"Jack."

"Kidding." He made a show of following her order. She knew she could trust him not to look, but still felt uneasy.

"Don't worry," he joked. "I wouldn't want to look at such an underdeveloped body like yours."

"**WHAT** DID YOU SAY?"

**  
**The cliff rose out of the black night to greet him. Nazareth smiled grimly. It was the perfect place to mount a stand.

Gently he set Jacky down, placing his jacket upon the sick girl's feverish body in order to keep her warm. Though he did not believe she was lucid, he still murmured in her ears to reassure her– and his own heart.

"Stay here."

That was the last softness the Gear hybrid allowed him. Softness would not serve him now. Steel was in order. Deadly steel.

To destroy a monster, one had to become a monster as well.

To destroy an evil, one must become sin itself.

He turned to face the rippling waves of living dark that boiled from the twisted forest. His answering snarl was furious intent. Gone was the kind human boy, child of Dizzy and Bridget from an alternate timeline and dimension. In its place was the Gear known as Nazareth.

"Undine! Necro! To me!"

White wing unfurled with a smart snap. Pale feathers and gusts of arctic wind swirled around him. The temperature in the immediate vicinity dropped. Undine raised her hands in an almost casual gesture. The result was anything but offhand. A jagged wall of ice exploded upward just ten paces before Nazareth, impaling the foremost of the ground-borne attackers upon spears of sharp blue-white crystal. Hot black blood gushed down the smooth sides of frozen water. The rush immediately stalled. None dared mount an assault upon the icy armament. That was their undoing.

Black wing tore free of pretend dormancy and moral restraints. Necro's wrath was terrible. Eyes afire, laughter demented, he was viciousness personified. He beat the enemy to the attack, his move preemptive retaliation a hundred times worth the threat offered. Michael Sword clove horse-men in half. Thrown runic hammers drove in skulls and shattered bones with abandon. Spinning, flaming scythes cleared the air and dropped enemies by the dozen. He reared back, war bow in hand, and released a storm of explosive arrows to rock their surroundings with fire and slaughter.

Cooler-headed Undine handled defense. An imperceptible flick of her wrist called forth an entire school of frost piranha. Her next negligent gesture sent the summoned creatures through the demon horde, tearing and rending with snapping fangs and crimson beams, a blue river of death. When what looked to be a huge dog made it through the bristling barriers of ice to lunge at Nazareth, Undine merely shifted her palm towards it. The ten foot long lance of ice punched a hole through the roof of the dog's skull as cleanly as a hot needle pierced cheese.

Monsters perished by the scores. Bodies and body parts littered the ground. Still they came. Loping and lunging, from sky and soil, they came. Through ice and fire, through icy heaven and blazing hell, they came. They hurled themselves at the terrible winged figure at the middle of all the death and destruction, demons trying to bring down a god.

They failed.

They died.

Nazareth had never felt so powerful. Only now did he realize why. Cristobal was a focus point for mystical energies. The whole of the mountain overflowed with power. Magic! Magic that could be drawn upon to reinforce those who knew how to call it forth. Magic to release upon enemies and obstacles in the form of destructive energy. Magic that was power and life and evolution and madness.

Magic that made a Gear what it was: a pinpoint weapon of mass destruction.

He threw his arms clear of himself, allowed darkness to wrap his person. His dark devil nature manifested. Apocalyptic fire exploded outwards of him and into the enemy. The night flashed blood red and sun bright.

And then the monsters finally had enough. They didn't fall back. They ran at full speed, panicked, terrified. But they could not run fast enough to escape the wrath of the beast they had foolishly roused. A shower of lasers and flaming arrows sliced into them. Dozens toppled. An overpowering stench of barbecued flesh mingled with the screams of the dying and terrified. Then they couldn't run anymore. An instant, lethal fence of ice encircled them, Undine hemming them in place for a final apocalypse.

The dragon within Nazareth roared for release. He obliged.

Necro flung the folds of his cloak outward. Out came the ultimate horror. Toothy maw opened wide. Reptilian monstrosity breathed out. The torrent of energy was so tightly packed together that it took on near-physical attributes. It vaporized anything in its direct path, incinerated everything within twenty feet of its brilliance, and turned night into day. Monsters ignited as if deadfall. A whole swathe of virgin forest burst into flames.

Almost lazily, Necro cleared away everything with the beam of sustained annihilation. He left nothing alive within miles. Everything died.

And then only Nazareth and his wings were left.

He had won.

But he did not feel elated. Instead, he felt drained. Not of energy. No. More importantly, he felt he lost his humanity.

"Nazareth…"

Jacky. The girl had finally regained consciousness. Somehow she managed to keep on her feet as she staggered towards him. She was a pitiable thing. Her eyes burned with a fever she could never quench, a hunger she could never sate. She tiredly toppled into his arms and shuddered at the touch of him.

"Enough," she murmured. "It's enough, Nazareth."

Gravely he bowed in assent, his forehead resting upon her brown mane. She smelled different, felt different.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes."

"I'm glad."

Then he killed her.

The creature that had pretended to be Jacky tried to shriek. It couldn't. Nazareth reduced it to soot and ash where it stood. Then he looked to the spot where he had left Jacky.

Only his jacket lay there.

Where was she? He left her there just a few minutes ago– or was it? It felt like centuries. And he couldn't remember. For the life of him, he couldn't remember.

There was no blood. Had the monsters carried her off while he wasn't looking? But they had been wholly focused on _him_. Why bother with a helpless girl when there was a demon raging for their deaths?

The sound of a twig snapping spun him around, Necro and Undine ready to deal out death.

Pupils black as the night that spawned his foes regarded him with no emotion whatsoever.

"Your friend is safe," the young man said.

Immediately the tension drained from Nazareth. "Where is she?" he pressed. "Is she all right?"

"She is safe. She was sick with poison, but my Mistress healed her."

"Your Mistress?"

"Yes. She wishes to meet with you. That is," the young man cryptically added, "Only if you want to."

Nazareth had only the vaguest idea what this guy was talking about, but the assurance that Jacky was safe and healed was more than enough. "Take me to your mistress."

**  
**They found the source of the song– and were promptly caught up in the enchantment that had snared so many before them.

She danced in place, in the middle of the unnatural clearing. Raven mane and flimsy white folds and green tendrils of ivy danced around her and along with her, mimicking her movements. A stream of light transfixed her and presented her for all to see. And she was beautiful. Her skin was light gold, her hair coal black, her eyes twin emeralds. Wrapped around her small figure was the scent of the forest, of pristine innocence and unspoiled freshness. She was the child of the land and of the World.

April swallowed. She was jealous.

And Jack? He was stock still, deaf, dumb and mute, a statue.

The girl– she could not have been that much older than them– stopped her graceful dervish movements. Green eyes that were not altogether human regarded her audience with kindness and amusement. Especially Jack, who for some reason she was fixated on. Which in turn made April feel a wee bit ill at ease.

"Welcome, gentle travelers, to the heart of my domain, my home. Few are those whom I bless with glimpses of this place, and fewer still are those I invite within. They come and go with the ages. I remain."

"Who are you?" April asked.

The woman tilted her head aside in the manner children do. "I bear many names, and all of them are mine. But the one I favor the most and claim as mine own is Maria."

Jack gaped.

April blinked.

And the girl called Maria smiled.

"I am Maria of Makiling. I am the Lady of the Mountain."

**  
**Nazareth found Jacky pale but well enough to be standing on her feet. A hug was called for.

"Nazareth?"

"Thank God," the half-Gear boy murmured, his hug on her tightening, "Thank God you're all right."

Jacky smiled. "Thank you, too."

"Aww," the cutest voice intruded, "Aren't you two darlings the sweetest?"

Nazareth turned to the girl in black. Beside her was his guide the young man (who didn't feel quite right to him, though he didn't know why) and a redhead boy toting a weird-looking staff.

"Thank you for helping Jacky, Miss–"

The girl raised a hand in protest. She grinned wickedly.

"Murasame. Four Murasame."

**  
TSUZUKU**


	29. Makiling 02: P4 Reborn

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**  
Makiling Arc**

Second of Three Parts

**  
P4 Reborn**

**  
**"I am Maria of Makiling. I am the Lady of the Mountain."

April and Jack stared. "Wow," the latter managed.

The legendary faerie queen of Mount Makiling smiled benignly. "Indeed. As I have said before, welcome to my home, Jack, April."

"Ah, thanks a lot– hey, wait a minute," Jack realized. "How'd you know our names?"

"I know. Your very presence alone sings your name out to the winds. And the winds of my homeland tell me everything they know."

"Wow."

April bit her lip. Sure, she was just as impressed as Jack. Not everyone could say they met a legendary nature spirit on a nature hike. (Two, if you count Nakoruru patrolling the outskirts of Mak-Ban.) But something about Maria was bothering her. It wasn't that the faerie struck her as evil. April had encountered enough evil people to develop a sixth sense when detecting them. (Okay, Sousuke Aizen fooled her that time, but that monster fooled everyone except Sho Tsuzuku.)

Then she noticed that Maria was looking over Jack most intently. Intensely inspecting every external physical aspect of the Brit boy. Poring over every square inch as if looking for something. But what?

The subject of scrutiny realized it as well. Jack blushed._ It feels real creepy to be ogled yourself,_ the ex-part-time perv realized ironically.

Pangs of a feeling April couldn't quite identify, accept or admit gripped her like a vice.

"You are so much like him," Maria mused absently to Jack.

"Eh?"

"My last human lover from so long ago, before I forsook selfish mankind and dwelt in the Emerald Dream. He was so much like you. A stranger from a distant land, blonde and blue-eyed, tall and strong, yet gifted with a kind heart absent in his people."

"Maybe he was a Spanish explorer," Jack suggested. He shifted into encyclopedia mode. "Probably the Legazpi expedition, from what I remember. They were the first ones to make it into mainland Luzon. What happened to him?"

Maria's beautiful face saddened even as April's elbow dug into Jack's ribcage. "He was killed by his folk. He died protecting my home and me from his own people."

April coughed diplomatically and elbowed Jack. "We're sorry to hear about that."

Jack didn't need his friend's glare or nudge to say "Sorry."

"But there is more," Maria added almost hopefully. "Sometimes the spirit does not depart this world even after the death of the vessel that holds it. It will wander the world until it finds another vessel it can dwell in."

"That sounds a lot like reincarnation," April posed. Then the implication hit. "Woah! You're not saying–"

"–That I'm the reincarnation of your boyfriend from a million years ago?" the equally astonished Jack finished for his friend.

"Not one million. Around five hundred years ago, more or less. I'm not very good with time."

"That's ridiculous!" both April and Jack declared. But the latter's protest was weaker.

"Have you ever had any dreams," Maria posed, "That struck you as lifelike? Dreams so vivid that you couldn't tell which was real and which was the dream?"

Despite the situation, April grimaced. "That sounds like a rephrased version of a line from _The Matrix_."

"They named something after your best friend?" Jack asked.

"God, but _that_ is an **_old_** joke."

"Whatever." He thought about Maria's question. "Well, come to think of it–"

**  
**Yuuki Darren blinked.

"Oh. A flashback scene. That's nice."

Then she went back to her work.

**  
**_He remembered._

_He remembered the all-encompassing sea he traversed for what seemed like many lifetimes before he and his comrades set foot upon the unspoiled archipelago paradise that had no name. He remembered the endless canopy of green that covered the land from one end to another, the crystal clear springs and mighty waterfalls, the towering mountains and deep valleys, the pristine beaches of shining white sand. He remembered the people, dark-haired and brown-skinned, their eyes lacking even a speck of guile or greed, childlike and curious. He remembered the cheerful birdsong in the day and the haunting murmurs of night creatures and the strange but beautiful tongue of the native folk. He remembered summer days, warm and welcome, and winters mild and nippy, and those memories kept him going during stormy times._

_But most of all, he remembered her. Her exquisite, alien, elfin beauty, unlike anything he'd ever seen before, eternally youthful, forever old. The sweetly intoxicating fragrance of her presence that passed Time away so quickly as if a fleeting sea breeze and not the master of all mortal and material. Strong arms and dexterous hands wrapped around him in loving embrace. Those soft delicious lips and the singsong voice that issued from them._

"Mahal kita."

_I love you._

_He loved her. Fought for her. Died for her._

_Promised her he would come back._

_And he always fulfilled his promises._

**  
**"I remember." Jack shivered and hugged himself. "I remember everything."

Maria smiled, a sad but triumphant smile.

"Just wait a minute! You can't just grab Jack and marry him!"

Not for once, April's vehemence startled Jack. That it was in his defense was even more surprising. Even though they were friends now, even after everything they went through, it still surprised him, the fact that she really cared for him.

"Why not?"

April face-vaulted. Maria really sounded like she didn't know. _Oh, God, the most powerful faerie in the Philippine islands is an airhead the equal of Tsukino Usagi or Sonsaku Hakufu…_

Regaining her composure, the girl grasped for a straw of logic that would suffice. "Well, um, ah– because he's only fifteen! He's not of legal age, you know!"

"Human laws hold nothing over me. Besides," Maria added rather shyly, her blush faint but present, "in the tradition of the ancient human folk I lived with, fifteen was a rather late age to get married."

"But you can't! You just can't!"

"Who are you to forbid me?"

"I'm his friend! I get to say something in the matter!"

"Do you have any personal hold over Jack?"

That stopped April in her tracks. "Personal– hold?"

"Are you his lover?" Maria innocently asked.

Both Jack and April gagged.

"WHAT WAS **_THAT_** ALL ABOUT?" April screeched.

"It was a legal question, very warranted," Jack began rather weakly.

"Shut up, Jack. I'm trying to save you from a ridiculous fate."

"I was only trying to help."

"Who? Her?" With a rather rude gesture towards Maria.

"No, you."

"Then don't. If you want to help, _don't_."

"Whatever you say." Jack sounded hurt.

April bit her lip.

_I like him. But I can't say it. Not here. Not now._

_Not ever?_

_Goddamn you, Sheo Darren! This is **YOUR** fault! You wrote this freaking fan fic! You started everything by tossing us here! Why couldn't you just have slept that night like any normal human being instead of–_

"April! Jack!"

The two human teens spun. "Jackie?"

"Nazareth-_kun_!"

It was, indeed, Blackheart ZERO and TRUE Unknown's created characters. April thanked God and Sheo Darren for the timely interruption. Maybe now, in the company of sane people, she'd be able to formulate a logical argument. "How'd you get here?"

"A girl led us here," Nazareth said.

"A girl?"

"Yeah." He turned. "See? Miss Murasame here–"

Maria froze.

The girl was moonlight pale clothed in midnight black. Bracelets tinkled musically. Green eyes glittered feral. Flanking her were the tall, thin, slightly menacing youth and a ten year old redhead bearing a staff wrapped in gauze.

"Hello, Queen of Mount Makiling, Jack of all trades and the PLANT colony that the Earth Alliance nuked in CE 67, killing off Athrun Zala's mommy and thus kicking off _Gundam Seed_ and in extension _Seed Destiny_, the last meriting an 'Ugh'." The singsong voice chuckled at its self-perceived cleverness. "I know my greetings and designations do not make sense. Please put up with me. It's a kernel32 error. Happens to me all the time whenever I connect with the 'Net. He never did really upgrade my OS right."

"Who the hell are you?" Jack demanded.

"An abomination," Maria answered. The faerie was grim. "One who should not exist in this World."

"Ah, but before you go harping on things that should not exist, this entire World and all who live within it– _you_ yourself included– is _such_ a thing. But I get ahead of myself." The dark girl tipped her head to the side cutely. "This here tall, dark and handsome on my left," she gestured at the black-clad young man, "Is Revelation."

Nazareth's eyes widened. _Revelation! Testament's son! An incredibly powerful and terrifying Gear! So that's what I sensed in him earlier!_

"And this here on my right is Negi Springfield, boy wizard, teacher at Mahora Gakuen and heartthrob with few equals."

The redhead boy blushed at the faint praise (or what sounded remotely like praise). _At least she isn't lampooning me anymore._

"And I," curtsied the dark girl, "Am Four Murasame."

Maria recoiled. April, Jack, Nazareth and Jackie, however, exchanged looks and simultaneously went "Who?"

Four laughed. "I forget that the four of you have been tossed this way and that way around in this fan fiction for so long, you haven't been in touch with the latest news. Let me explain. I'm _The World Within And Without_'s new primary bad guy."

That, they understood. Nazareth's wings flung outward. Jack drew his shotgun while Jackie took out her yoyos. Maria prepared to summon her innate mystic power r. And April took a step back–

–as the Will And The Word slammed into them.

It was as if a vast, invisible had suddenly grabbed them. It froze them where they stood, paralyzed their arms and legs, kept them from trying anything that could remotely be translated as resistance. Even Maria, mighty amongst the faerie that still walked the World, couldn't begin to match the immensely powerful Will rooting them in place.

"Stay," was the verbal command that backed the imprisoning effect gripping them. And they did. Four was pleased. "Good boys and girls. Maybe we can actually talk things out like reasonable people."

"You call this reasonable?" spat April.

"Given our circumstances, the reception you were about to spring for me and the difference in our power levels, I'd say, 'Yes'." Complete with cute shrug of shoulders.

"What do you want?" Jack demanded.

"I came here for one thing." She smirked at him. "You."

"Me?" mumbled the astonished boy in question.

"Smart boy. Exactly."

"Join the club," April muttered beneath her breath.

"What for? As a hostage?"

"Oh, don't be silly," Four pooh-poohed. "Aside from your brother and April and Maria, no one cares _that_ much about you."

"That's not true!" Then he paused. "What was that about April?"

April blushed like mad. Everyone else, especially Maria, stared at her in a new light. Four gaily chattered on.

"Of course, silly boy. It is what I call 'the opposite polarity effect'. Basically, positive and negative sorts attract. Kind of like a magnet or the reverse of the 'birds of the same feather' saying. The Romancers call it 'the love-hate relationship'.

"Now, let me summarize the theme of my existence. For the past twenty eight chapters– Sheo does not use the number 13 in ordering his chapters, you see, so this chapter is not 29, but 28–, I've been causing minor havoc throughout _The World Within And Without_. My goal is to summon Sheo Darren from wherever he is right now back to this World.

"The previous times, I distorted the reality of _The World Within And Without_ by undoing key twists to the characters, like S-Ko's state of undeath, indirectly causing Hikki to go crazy and siccing Dark Chii on Chipp. No creator worthy of the title can accept another person fiddling with the World he or she made without his or her express permission. Certainly Sheo's been proven to be very protective of the things he holds dear.

"But I realized that it was Sheo's _intent_ to let this World run on its own without undue interference from himself. He believes too much in free will and self-determination despite having being burned by same all too many times." Four sighed. "He was always a hopeless romantic," she airily admitted.

"But this time, I'm going to do different. I will remake an _original character _he made. I will distort a _person_ he made. Sheo Darren _will_ respond to this travesty. Why?" The childlike smile was cruel. "Because, more than anything, a person– a human being– is now involved– and endangered."

April fought to suppress the waves of hopelessness and terror surging through her. "You can't destroy Jack!"

"Who said I was going to? I sad, I'm going to 'remake' or 'distort' him, not destroy him." For the first time since she'd upstaged the scene, Four sounded rather petty. "Will you guys at least listen carefully to what the bad guy says when it matters?"

"Why should we?" Jackie demanded.

The dark girl didn't even bat an eyebrow. All the same, Jackie and Nazareth suddenly found themselves just in their underwear and entangled with each other in a most sexually-suggestive position.

Beside the dark girl, Negi shuddered. He'd been in that kind of position one too many times back in Mahora Gakuen, so he commiserated with them.

"You don't have any choice in it," Four chirped. "But don't the two of you look so cute like that?" She grinned. "You're enjoying it."

Jackie blushed but didn't make any move to end her situation.

"Now, where was I?" Four made a show of pretending to think it over. "Oh. Right. I remember now." She twirled in place as if dancing, only to face her victims once more, hands tucked behind her back and wearing a knowing smile. "Do you know that in Sheo Darren's initial sketches, Bridget's sibling was supposed to be a girl?"

"WHAT?" went everyone except Jack, who mumbled, "Oh, God, not _this_."

"But it is, Jack! Only later did he learn that Bridget had a _brother_ and not a sister, and so made _you_. Well, I am simply going to implement his original plan. I will turn you into a girl. Who knows," she posed, "Maybe Sheo will thank me for this."

Jack groaned. "Kill me now. Please."

"Does seeing Sheo Darren again matter that much to you?" April demanded. "Just what did he do to deserve this?"

"I love him."

The admission stunned them all. But April would not be silenced so easily. "How can you say that when you're attacking everything he holds dear?"

"I love him," Four softly reiterated. "None of you can ever understand it. But I love him. I love him more than anyone in this World or outside of it." Negi's head dipped into a slight bow. "I may act this way, attack the things he love, but there is no changing the feeling in my heart. I love him. Because he is _family_."

She looked up to the limitless night sky, exultant, invigorated. "Do you understand now, Lone Wolfie-_chan_, Person-_kun_, and all you Authors out there who follow this World? Do you see it coming? Is it clear now? My identity?"

Turning to the humans and Gear hybrids and faerie: "My last name is Darren," she said without preamble. "My full name is Four Murasame Darren. Daughter of Sheo Darren. Younger sister of Yuuki Darren."

A halo of blue light surrounded her. Weird synthesized electronic music started playing even as electricity danced in her green eyes and around her. Four smiled.

"I am the P4 Reborn."

**  
TSUZUKU**


	30. Makiling 03: And The Battle Commences

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**  
Makiling Arc**

Third of Three Parts

**  
And The Battle Commences**

**  
**"My last name is Darren. My full name is Four Murasame Darren. Daughter of Sheo Darren. Younger sister of Yuuki Darren. I am the P4 Reborn."

_And there,_ Four thought. _My gauntlet has been thrown. Shall you pick it up?_ She looked up into the sky, at the Death Star– cloaked tonight, but there– where her other family watched. _My dear Yuuki-_oneechan

"WHAT?"

"You're the P4?"

"His daughter?"

"Sheo has another daughter?"

"That perv," Jack mumbled. Four laughed at his comment.

"How true, that last. Sheo is quite the fan boy. But," and her green eyes glowed, "I'll be the one to call him that. Not you."

Jack gulped.

"Perv or not, fan boy or not, he will come back if I call. And you, my dear Jack, are going to be my e-mail."

"Wait!" April desperately sought to buy time. "You say you're the P4, but it was destroyed ages ago! How can you be alive?"

"Delaying the inevitable, are you, April?" Yet Four smiled, if rather meanly. "Well, to fulfill the tradition of all villains before me, I will give in to this ridiculously prideful compulsion and answer your question.

"I did die. But Sheo brought me back to life alongside Yuuki in the Timeless Void beyond the Walls of this World, after Sho killed her. He gave me a human body. He set me out in this World." Her eyes softened. "And then he left me again.

"Do you know how much it hurts to be left by the one you love most? To be abandoned, even if it's supposedly for your own good? But of course you do, April." The girl in question started. "And you'll experience it once more very soon. It isn't very pleasant, even for me, but that's the way things are. The means _do_ justify the ends.

"Anyway," she sprightly finished, "Enough with all this love-love issue. Person wants action. He'll get it." Four brought her level gaze upon the wordlessly horrified Jack. "Time to do a Ranma, Jack-_kun_. Don't worry. It isn't as bad as you might think, though you'll have to take a few pages off your brother's book of life. Anyway: _Bai bai_..." She raised her hand.

"No!" April yelled. The Will And The Word rippled. Jack screamed.

**  
**Words, ancient and indecipherable, full of power and menace, filtered about the glade. It was not Four's voice.

"_Lic lac lic lac…_ Dark Archer! One hundred and ninety-nine arrows of darkness!"

Nearly two hundred lances of black energy, darker than the dark night, hurtled towards Four and her retinue.

Negi knew that incantation, knew its user very well. "Eva-_san_!"

But the dark girl he served only smirked and said, "Shield." Before the startled Negi, a giant wing-like shield unfurled and stood fast against the explosive magical assault. "How sad," Four told the air. "Still up to your usual tricks, are you, Yuuki-_chan_? Still sending other people to do your dirty work for you. This is how Japan bit it back in the Crusades with Justine's first run. But I'm not Japan."

"But," a strong voice that Negi also knew very well hotly contended, "_This_ is _from_ Japan!"

Something white smashed into Shield. The magical barrier broke apart from that single stupendous blow.

"One-hit KO weapon," Four mused, "Paired with an innate anti-magic ability and brute strength. Clow Read probably never saw that one coming. Oh, well…"

Negi gasped. Kagurazaki Asuna smugly stood in the midst of the disappeared Shield. In her hand was a white _harisen_, a paper fan, the magical _Pactio_ item she'd gotten from Negi. She did not look happy.

"Negi-_bozu_…"

**  
**She wasn't alone. The Mahora Squad backed her up: bubbly Konoe Konoka, daughter of the leader of Japan's Eastern Mage Association and designated group healer; Konoka's childhood friend and swordswoman Sakurazaki Setsuna; Maehara Shinobu successor Miyazaki Nodoka, shyly carrying an open magical tome; level-headed and poker-faced Ayase Yue, support caster and information services provider; tanned kung fu master Kuu Fei; and top-heavy but incredibly skilled ninja Nagase Kaede.

Also present was Evangeline A.K. McDowell, the powerful "high day walker" mage, and Eva's two sidekicks, the magical puppet Chachazero and the robot girl Chachamaru. Apparently the vampire girl had found a way around the barrier at Mahora Gakuen that sealed her powers and kept her penned in. _Probably Yuuki's handiwork there,_ Four considered. _Or maybe Sheo. He _did_ like her…_

All in all, it was a ridiculously powerful group of junior high school girls per anime tradition. And every single one of them was a student of Negi from Mahora Gakuen's Class 2A.

"How did you know where we are? No, wait," Four corrected herself, "Nodoka-_chan_, right? Her diary can read the thoughts of a person whose name she knows. And Yuuki probably gave you a head's up. Am I right?"

"You forgot something," Asuna added. "We're going to kick your butt and take back Negi!"

"Spunky, aren't you? No wonder Negi-_kun_ likes you so much…"

Negi and Asuna both turned red. "THAT WASN'T IT!" both yelled.

Four laughed. "You're such siblings, you know that?" _Kind of like me and Yuuki_. "But you and your collection aren't going to be the ones who will stop me."

"Let's see about that, shall we?" the recovered Asuna challenged. Four smiled but turned away to her, focusing on Jack. "Negi-_kun_? Revelation-_kun_? Keep them off me, will you?"

"Okay," Negi hesitantly agreed. Revelation only nodded.

Evangeline smirked. "Kagurazaki. I'll handle this other guy. You take Boyo. Ought to be manageable enough for your skills."

"Don't patronize me, Eva-_san_," Asuna returned. "Besides, _you_ might end up in trouble and _I_ would have to save you from _him_."

"That would be the day, human. Chachazero! Chachamaru! Let's go!" The three met Revelation's charge in a massive clash.

Konoka was already going through the required anime cliché of pleading with her opponent. "Negi-_sensei_, why are you helping such a bad person? It isn't like you!" Nodoka, Yue and Kaede sagely nodded in agreement. (Aside, Setsuna was embarrassed about the superfluous drama her _ojousama_ was putting on.)

Negi was understandably caught between a rock and a hard place. _How do I tell them about me and Four? At the very least, I'll break their hearts– and knowing how some of them take heartbreaks… I'm dead._

"Argh! Enough talking already!" That was Asuna, the _harisen_ impatiently rested on her shoulder. "So what if he wants to be with that crazy girl? We'll just beat his head in until he sees the sense of things!"

"Asuna!" her allies protested. Negi sweat-dropped. _Asuna-_san_, when did you get so violent-minded?_

She didn't bother reading his mind or answering the other girls' complaints. Asuna just barged at Negi head on, the _harisen_ swinging. "Yaaaaahhhhhh!"

Normally that was the stupidest way to attack anyone. Negi knew a goodly number of spells and kung fu moves that could stop her cold or dodge such a brash attack. But Negi was Negi, Asuna was Asuna, and angry Asuna always _frightened_ Negi.

He remembered something else as the _harisen_ swat sent him cart-wheeling a good twenty feet. _I forgot how strong her Pactio weapon was! Not to mention how strong _Asuna_ is…_

"_That was for leaving without telling me where you were going!"_

He started. _Asuna_-san Her voice! He'd forgotten the mental link their Pactio established between them!

She was coming at him again. _"And this is for not contacting me during your entire escapade!"_

WHAP! Again Negi flew. "Asuna?" he heard Konoka whine. "Aren't you hitting Negi-_sensei_ a bit too hard?"

"I know what I'm doing!" _"And this is for taking up with a girl without telling me!"_

POW! Drops of water slapped his face. _What– tears?_

She was sobbing. Her _harisen_ shuddered with her. "You stupid kid. Why didn't you tell me? I would've understood. All you had to do was send me a letter or call me or something…"

Negi couldn't answer. _I forgot all about them, about her…_

"Hell, I would have gone along with you! I would have insisted!"

_I'm sorry…_

"Instead… you did this… this is… **_UN-FOR-GIVE-A-BLE!_**"

The _harisen_ rose above her head in a two-handed. The other girls were yelling for her to stop. Negi could only stare helplessly.

_She's really going to bash my head in. And I deserve it…_

**  
**Four started.

**  
**Jack hung motionless in the air. Four was kind enough to put him to sleep while pondering over details. Screaming always distracted her.

_Now, what bust size was his girl identity? Bridgette, was it? Or some other name to that effect. Hmm. C is too generous. According to the original design specs, she was supposed to be petite. B, then. Or maybe B+. Yeah, B, so we'd know Bridget from Bridgette…_

Maria, stopped in place, could only watch helplessly as the boy who was the reincarnation of her beloved slip away from her yet again. Jacky and Nazareth tried to break free of the holding spell. They failed.

And April wept. She pleaded with Four to stop, to turn Jack back into himself. _She really does like him_, Four thought_. Despite her initial hate, she fell in love with him._

But she ignored them all. Her attention was riveted on a scene out of the corner of her eye.

Negi sprawled on the ground. That orange-haired twin-tailed harridan, Asuna, was about to smack him with her _harisen_.

Her world halted.

He would have survived that. _It was only a paper fan, right? It would hurt, but it wouldn't kill him. And that Asuna girl loved him. She wouldn't kill him. Right? Right?_

"_If too much love can kill," _Altena told her once…

_But no one smacks my Negi around except me._

**  
_Cancel. Are you sure you want to cancel this operation? Yes._**

"Time. Illusion."

**  
**April cradled Jack. "Please. Please be all right…"

Groaning, he opened his eyes. "April?" Then, remembering his ordeal, his hands flew towards his chest. "I don't have boobs?" He was about to check his shorts, too, but settled for an exclamation of "I'm not a girl?"

"Four cancelled her spell. She went off to help Negi."

"Lucky me, I guess." Jack paused, startled, when April hugged him hard. "Hey, what's–"

"Whoever you are," she told him, "Whatever you were or would become, I love you."

He blinked. "April… I… don't know what to say…"

"How about, 'I love you, too'? And hug me. Before I slug you."

"Yes, ma'am." Jack did so. "I love you, too."

**  
**Asuna reeled back. Negi was all covered in blood. "What the–"

"Asuna!" The other girls were all over her in indignation. "You hurt Negi-_sensei_!"

"No! I didn't! I mean– what I was doing…"

"Asuna-_san_?" The boy didn't understand what the ruckus was all about. "Is there something wrong?"

"What do you mean– you're– you're bleeding all over!"

"Huh? I am?" He touched his face experimentally. The blood wasn't there. "Eh?"

"Illusion," Four interjected right beside him. She smiled. "I had Time stop the clock and Illusion to make you look like half-dead."

"Time? Illusion?" Only then did he notice the two magical cards now disappearing from sight, their mission accomplished. "You used the Clow Cards? Then–"

"Sheo can wait a little longer. You, however– move!" She shoved him away.

Beneath and around her, the soil exploded with green.

**  
**Maria willed the thorny tendrils and vines to wrap tight around the surprised Four, their poison-laden spines biting deep into the girl's vitals. She then poured power into them, accelerating their growth, calling more and more of them to the task. In a matter of seconds, the dark girl disappeared from sight, buried beneath bristling greenery.

"Your evil ends here," the faerie swore.

Already she accepted her personal loss. Jack was not meant to be hers. He wasn't her beloved, though reincarnation of that man he might be. He was himself, Jack, the boy that a girl named April loved. And he loved April. And that was that.

Instead she poured herself into a greater purpose, her true role: to protect her gardens and the people she cared for. She would protect Jack, ensure his happiness with his beloved in a place and time that seemed all too hostile at times to love and hope and joy.

And she would start by destroying the evil who was Four Murasame Darren.

**  
**"Four!" Negi yelled. He willed his staff to fly to him. The words to a spell came to his lips. _I have to save her!_

**  
**"Firey."

Flames devoured the leafy prison, turned them to ash, freeing Four. The Clow Card glowed once before disappearing.

She shuddered. Numerous deep punctures bled all over her body. Within, poisons infiltrated her vital organs, killed her slowly. But already her brain, the greatest computing machine that existed, surged into battle reflex mode, overrunning her body's physical infirmity, mind far stronger than flesh.

_Sheo… I'm not going to die from something as stupid and simple as mere poison!_

Four straightened. A notion instantly healed her minor injuries and purged her inner system of toxins. "That hurt a little," she admitted, shaking her head daintily. To the relieved Negi: "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted: you, however, are a bit more immediate concern. Negi."

He blushed. She only smiled.

"Cover me, Negi. Use Arc Light. I'll go after Jack again."

"Four…" His head bobbed happily. "Okay!" His spirits raised immeasurably, with a mission to fulfill, Negi turned to face Asuna and the Mahora crowd again.

With that, Four advanced on Maria. "Round Two?" she lightly asked the fairy.

**  
TSUZUKU**


	31. Stand Alone: Shining

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**  
Post Makiling Arc**

**Stand Alone**

**  
Shining**

**  
**As Four went after Jack and his defenders, Negi produced a shining blue gemstone. "Let's go, Arc Light!"

Within the depths of that blue marble, stylized text formed. **_"Affirmative,"_**the glowing Velka-type Intelligent Device intoned, its brightness expanding into a globe of light that contained its master. Once Negi was out of sight, the magic began.

His blue teacher suit disintegrated. He blushed but waited. No one could see him, right?

His father's staff changed, too. Arc Light set itself within the knob of wood that was the business end of his staff to form its new gemstone core. Silvery mithril reinforced the wooden length, living and nonliving merging, old and new joining hands. Completed, the artifact rippled with immense power, the individually considerable energies of staff and gem fused together as one mighty force.

Negi reached out and tentatively grasped his transformed staff. It felt powerfully warm, yet comfortable and familiar. His new clothes materialized: reinforced white battle gloves, a sleeveless dark blue tunic and open-front white collared vest, baggy dark blue pants and white boots. This was the Barrier Jacket, a techno-magically generated battle costume that served as a last line of physical/magical protection.

He gripped Arc Light with his left hand as well and brought its tip down, breaking the shining bubble around him, revealing his new garb and look. Raising his staff over his head, he spun it twice and then stood it beside him most authoritatively, a formidable weapon backing his striking presence.

"Shining Wizard: Negi Springfield!"

The Mahora Squad stared at their transformed and totally kick-ass-looking teacher. "Wow," Konoka mumbled. "Negi-_sensei_'s, like, a magical girl now. Or boy. Or something. But he's so hot… even hotter than ever– I wanna marry him and have his babies!" The commentary made Nodoka blush and Asuna and Setsuna face-vault per correction.

"_O-ojousama_!"

"Damn it, Konoka! This isn't some silly game!"

"Sorry, Asuna-_san_… I couldn't help it, he's so handsome…" To which Kaede and Kuu Fei agreed heartily.

Suppressing a desire to tear her hair out or whack her teammates' heads violently, Asuna fixed her slightly-mismatched eyes on Negi. The boy swallowed but held the exchange. "Okay, Negi-_bozu_. You want to fight your rescue party? That's fine by me." _"And I hate you, too,"_ she thought out to him.

"Asuna-_san_…"

Asuna focused, pouring her fighting will into her _harisen_. "_Kafkai!"_ Negi winced as power was drawn out of him. The hitherto ridiculous-looking (though admittedly effective) _Pactio _item became a gigantic Chinese cleaver-like buster sword.

"Secchan!" half-cheered, half-ordered Konoka. "Get Negi-_sensei_ for me to marry!"

Setsuna, the flier in the Mahora Squad, complied (albeit not without sweat-dropping at her _ojousama_'s choice of wording; Asuna, however, did not do the same. Instead she slashed out with her sword, sending a powerful wave of pressurized air out towards Negi.) Angel wings unfurled from her back. In a mighty flurry of motion, Setsuna leapt upwards into flight. Kaede's monster shuriken and Kuu Fei's _ki_ blasts whistled after her.

Meanwhile, Nodoka was instructing everyone. Her _Diarium Ejus_ had the ability to read the thoughts of anyone within a certain range whose name she knew. This gave her the ability to read Negi's mind. "He's just standing there. He's confused; he's not going to attack or dodge–"

**  
**Negi didn't exactly know what to do. He wanted to protect Four, but he didn't want to hurt his students. It was, as Four was sometimes wont to say, _caught between the devil and the deep blue sea._

"**_Evasion,"_** Arc Light suddenly declared with a competitive glow. **_"Side Step. Mirage Fake."_**

Too late, it seemed. Hesitating briefly, not wanting to accidentally hurt or kill her _sensei_, Setsuna finally slashed at Negi with the flat of her sword. The blade, however, cleanly passed through the boy. Or rather, the insubstantial mirage appearing to be him. "A decoy?"

Countless Negi littered the sky. Kaede's shuriken and Asuna's pressure wave slash went through several. "Nice move, _sensei_," the impressed Kaede allowed, seeing her own _kagebunshin_ illusion technique used against her.

"He teleported and left illusionary after images in his wake," Yue advised. "Nodoka, can you track him?"

"Yes! He's somewhere above the rest of the illusions. But I didn't see that move coming…"

"Did he have a spell like this?" Konoka asked Asuna, the latter being the most well versed with Negi's arsenal of spells.

"No, I've never seen it before. It must be that Arc Light thing. Nodoka can't give us much of a head's up because she has no idea what his new spells are."

"Ah! Setsuna-_san_!" Nodoka looked frantic. "Look o–"

"_**Vector Thrust."**_

Arc Light propelled Negi down faster than he could believe possible for magical flight– and straight at Setsuna. The startled swordswoman tried to dodge. Negi did it for her, diverting himself aside at the last moment, missing Setsuna by a foot or so.

_So fast,_ both combatants realized. Surprisingly, Negi recovered first. "Ah… Arc Light! Load Cartridge!"

"**_Cartridge Load."_** Arc Light slammed a Magic Cartridge into its breech. Its entire length shuddered with the sudden boost of energy it received. So did its wielder. **_"Magnum!"_**

_Not too strong, please..._ Negi swung his battle staff. "Buster Smash!"

Setsuna managed to stop the powerful blow with her sword– but not the follow-up magically-generated explosive burst that slammed past her guard and into her. Knocked out, she dropped like a rock from the sky.

"Secchan!" Konoka screamed. The equally horrified Asuna could only watch–

"Vector Move!"

–as the lightning-fast Negi caught the unconscious Setsuna and bore her safely to the ground. "Oh, God, I'm a horrible teacher," the boy mumbled. _Hitting my student like that… thank God she isn't hurt too badly…_

Konoka was there. "Oh, Negi-_sensei_! Thank you!" She immediately began healing Setsuna's injuries.

"I'm sorry, Konoka-_san_." _All this power, yet I'm not able to use it right..._

Asuna's glare was lethal. He couldn't meet her gaze.

**  
**"Round Two?"

Maria's answer was to summon vines and creepers anew, forming them into a living spear that she sent lancing at Four. But the dark girl simply used Firey to burn the attack into a crisp. "No originality." Then she methodically set ablaze everything green around her, depriving the fairy of plant allies. "As Kosygin-_kun_ said in that _Red Alert_ mission briefing: scorched earth. Now, shall we do this one on one?"

It was not to be so. Help arrived. Jacky slashed to Maria's aid with a Rolling Pursuit out of the blue. Four dodged with Jump. Once in the air, she called on Fly to keep herself flying, then summoned Arrow and showered her foes with projectiles. Jacky parried with Starship, her wildly-spinning yoyos deflecting arrows left and right, while Maria wrapped her magic around her in an ephemeral shield.

"That's better…"

Nazareth also took to the air. Drawing upon the massive pool of magic within Makiling, Undine hurled a wave of sub-zero temperature wind that could shear off skin and flesh from bone as if fire. Four summoned the now-recovered Shield to stop the freezing assault, recalled the Clow Card as she dodged the first Michael Sword slash and hurled a torrent of water courtesy Watery. The quarter-Gear froze it solid–

"Gotcha! Takius Combo: Thunder!"

To Nazareth's shock, the lightning bolt surged through the column of ice and slammed into him with incredible force, twice as strong as it would have been on its own. Stunned, he dropped.

Jacky Double-Jumped and caught Nazareth. Once she landed, Maria healed them both. All three got ready once more.

"You're going to need more than that," Four announced, "To just keep up with my shadow."

Evangeline grinned. This Revelation character was strong. Very strong. _Perhaps a match for me?_

On her orders, Chachamaru and Chachazero hung back. The two sidekicks watched in awe as their Mistress practically slugged it out at point-blank range with the Gear. Magic blasts flew this way and that. Explosions dotted the mountainside. And Evangeline enjoyed herself.

_I haven't had a fight like this since Boyo left. Where had Sheo Darren hidden this guy? Oh, right; Nik Hasta made this guy. Or something...  
_

_I _like_ him…_

**  
**"Me, next, Negi-sensei!" Kuu Fei practically pranced with delight. "Here I come!"

"Wait," Asuna was saying, "We should–"

But the Chinese martial artist was already engaged with Negi in a high-speed exchange of kung fu moves, the boy having set his battle staff aside momentarily to oblige his teacher. Kuu Fei was pleased with her opponent's increased skill. "You better speed and strength, my student! But–" and here she parried a slightly careless punch of Negi's, then unloaded a fistful of _ki_ into his stomach "–Practice lots still need to beat master!"

Then she blinked. Negi was still standing and unharmed. The Barrier Jacket had completely withstood Kuu Fei's attack. "Is impressive!" the girl praised. "Very strong defense!"

"**_Thank you,"_** Arc Light politely replied. Negi blushed. Then he blanched. A new terror was coming his way.

"Out of my way, Kuu!" Asuna swung her monster sword with ridiculous ease. Kuu Fei winked at Negi before jumping away. "Take this!"

"**_Side Step."_** This time everyone saw Negi disappear before the giant sword crashed down on his head. **_"Vector Thrust."_** Asuna yanked her embedded blade out of the ground and looked around her angrily. "Where'd he go? Nodoka!"

"Above us! He's–"

"**_Shining Laser,"_ **Arc Light reported matter-of-factly ahead of her. "Strike Barrage," commanded Negi, now surrounded by a host of sizable energy beads. He aimed his staff downwards. "Volley!"

As one the beads dove at high speed, sustained streaks of laser light, energy falcons stooping down for the kill. They came straight at the Mahora Squad's main body.

Konoka gasped. She hugged the recovered Setsuna so hard, the latter girl gagged. Nodoka hugged her diary. Yue didn't even blink.

"Return!"

At the last moment, the beams careened away and leapt upwards, back to Negi's side, once more coalescing into their bead forms. The boy looked rather relieved. "A modified version of Magic Archer, huh?"

Asuna's eyes narrowed. "Konoka, take Nodoka and Yue out of here. Now."

"But–"

"Do it!"

As the noncombatant members of the Mahora Squad hurriedly retreated, Asuna fixed her glare on Negi. "Okay, Negi. No more holding back for real."

"I don't want to hurt or fight any of you, Asuna-_san_, but I can't–"

"Screw you!"

Negi flinched. _Asuna-san…_ The girl's vehemence startled even her own allies. But Asuna only said, "If we don't beat him, we'll never get him back. He'll never come back to us willingly. That girl won't let him. You know that. We have to beat him."

She would have cried, but decided that was stupid. "Kuu Fei! Kaede! Let's go! Setsuna, you lead!"

Her teammates leaped onto the broad side of her sword. With a mighty heave, Asuna swung her weapon, flinging her two friends into the air. Meanwhile Setsuna was already in the air above Negi, gaining altitude before diving at him from behind. The swordswoman played the anvil to the rising double martial artist hammer, Kaede multiplying her self with ninja shadow images.

Negi hesitated. _If I fire Shining Laser now_– He didn't trust his ability to direct the shots at all the targets converging on him from different axes without seriously hurting at least one of them. _And I don't want to._ _They're my students! What do I do?_

**  
**Nazareth and Jacky were down. Maria herself gave ground steadily if grudgingly. Four simply kept hitting the fairy with every attack-type Clow Card in her inventory, not letting up until Maria's considerable reserves of energy finally ran low, her spirit broken. The dark girl herself had barely broken a sweat. She could do this all night long. "Do you give up?" she asked.

On her knees, exhausted for the first time in her life, fire still burned in the ancient faye's heart. "Never."

"You asked for it." Four concentrated. Magical bindings wrapped around Maria. "I won't destroy you. Sheo would never forgive me for that, and I don't want to, either. But you have to go to sleep for a long while. So–"

"Wait!" Jack scrambled on scene. April was right behind him. "Stop!"

"I suppose," Four said without preamble, "That you're going to plead with me not to do it? You do know my answer to that."

"Leave here alone. If you do that," and Jack gathered himself, "I'll let you transform me."

To his surprise, Four did not looked pleased by his offer. "Another self-sacrificing hero? You're so like Sheo. So stupid…"

"You've won already," April pointed out. "You don't have to do this. You say you're nothing like Sho Tsuzuku or Samael or the Dragoon Society. Prove it."

"Besides," Jack added, "It's easier for you to transform someone who's willing, right?"

"Very valid points. I'm surprised to find the two of you agreeing on something so important so easily."

The two teens exchanged looks. "Only," April said, "If you change me into a boy, too."

Four's eyebrows rose.

**  
**Arc Light decided for its master. **_"Shining Guard."_** The beads burst, their energies forming a bubble that encapsulated him protectively. No modesty curtain this time. Demon dispelling attacks, giant shuriken and _ki_ blasts rebounded off it.

"**_Negi."_** The Intelligent Device's voice lacked true emotion, but the power of its argument was unmistakable. **_"You must fight. For Four's sake. For your own. For theirs, as well."_**

He understood. "All right, then. How about Backfire Blaster?" _Not too strong, please…_

"**_Affirmative." _**Shining Guard disappeared. Seeing her chance, Setsuna again attacked. Then: **_"Side Step."_**

Negi disappeared– and reappeared ten feet away. **_"Backfire Blaster."_ **A bright swell of magical energy exploded from Arc Light. Restrained on command of its user, Arc Light's "attack" didn't do any damage, but did blind Setsuna. So though the stunned girl was still in the air and unwounded, she was effectively out of the fight for the moment.

_Thank you, Arc Light._ Negi regained his confidence in his staff– and himself. He aimed downwards. "Solo Pulsar! Track!"

A massive magical pentagram traced itself into existence beneath him. Blue writ wound into circles around and before Arc Light, generating a magical gun barrel. A pencil-thin beam of sustained white shot out from its tip. It passed Kuu Fei and Kaede, landed inches in front of Asuna, who went "Huh?"

"Asuna-_san_!" That was Negi. "Get away! You, too, Kaede-_san,_ Master Kuu Fei! Please!"

"Damn it! I told you to stop patronizing me!" Asuna furiously brandished her weapon at him. "You're not taking me seriously!"

"I am! Believe me! But I don't want to hurt you, too! I don't know what kind of power I might release with this attack!"

She actually face-vaulted at that admission. _Typical of him… jumping into things headfirst… this is why I hate kids…_ "Then if you didn't know," she yelled back, "Why the hell did you use it?"

"But you said it was okay– oh, let's not argue anymore! Just run! Please!"

She wanted so much to tell her erstwhile teacher/friend/adopted little brother/ pet peeve/enemy/love interest to go to hell. _Starting a fight with me, only to tell me to run away..._ But the look on Negi's face– and Kuu Fei and Kaede were already falling back._ They believe in him. Why can't I?_

_He's the enemy!_

_But he's also Negi…_

Biting back her pride, trusting in the boy she fought, she turned and ran.

**  
**Negi waited until sure Asuna was out of the range of Solo Pulsar. "Is that far enough, Arc Light?"

"_**Affirmative."**_

"Thank you."

"_**You're welcome."**_

"Solo Pulsar. Expansion."

A brief pulse ran down the length of the beam to kiss the ground. **_"Nova Flare,"_** both boy and Intelligent Device firmly commanded. The brilliant explosion at the end of that thin white line vaporized everything within three hundred feet of the impact point. And Negi allowed himself to cry at last.

_Thank you, Asuna-_san_, for understanding me_…

**  
**"He is _so_ cool," oozed Konoka, much to Setsuna's chagrin/envy.

"Yeah," the panting but definitely impressed Asuna agreed. "He is."

**  
**Four deliberated. _What a delicious offer. Not just one, but two– TWO characters transformed! And one of them is a canon character, too. Surely Sheo will notice this!_

Negi touched down next to her. She spared him a quick nod and smile. "Negi, you just have to see this rather delicate issue. It's really cute despite being morally disturbing. Since you're an expert on stuff like this, I'd like to–"

"Enough."

She blinked. "What was that?"

"Four. Stop this. It's enough. You've caused enough trouble. Leave them alone."

Four gave him a long look. The redhead struck her as older now. More mature and– weary? For a ten year old, he seemed twice his age and height now. _I wonder what happened_. "Why," she pronounced tempestuously, "Why should I?"

"Because you're acting all spoiled and stupid," Negi breathed back. "And that's about as much as I can take."

"Are you threatening me?"

"No. Yes."

"And if I don't?"

Negi held her gaze steady. "Where is the girl I love so much?" he asked bluntly, aloud.

Everyone gaped. April and Jack; Maria; Nazareth and Jacky; the Mahora Squad, Asuna first and foremost, with Nodoka close behind. The same question stumped them all: _Negi's her boyfriend?_

"Are you still there? Four?"

"I'm here." Her voice was soft and pliant to his will. "I am definitely here."

"Sheo wouldn't want this. He'd come back, I'm sure, if you did this. But then what? I've fought and even hurt my students for you. I don't know how I can face them after this. Will they forgive me? What about you, then? You and Sheo? How will things work out once this is done?"

"I want him home…"

"He promised he'd come back. Do you believe in him?"

"… Yes. I do."

Negi reached for her face. Four allowed him to touch her cheek.

"Let's go home," he murmured.

**  
**"I'm surprised Asuna and the others let you go."

"I'm surprised Maria let _you_ go."

"Like she could hold me in her dreams."

"Would you have really been okay with that?"

"No." Then: "You really are my conscience, you know that?"

"Thanks. I told Asuna and Nodoka about us. They didn't like it, but they accepted it."

"They ought to. Otherwise-"

"Four…"

She laughed. "Kidding. You know, you're the only one aside from Sheo and Yuuki who can tell me off." And then: "You've matured a lot, Negi."

"You, too, Four. So what do we do now?"

"I think it's about time for me and my dear sister to finally talk. Will you come with me?"

"Yuuki hates my guts," he finally said.

"So I've heard. You can hide behind my skirt if you want to."

"No, thanks. That's what got me into trouble in the first place. Besides," he admitted, "If you can finally have the courage and strength to face her, why can't I?"

"That's what I love so much about you, Negi. Always my shining star."

"I love you, too." They kissed.

**  
**From the smoking ruin of Makiling's slopes, where he had been left for dead, Revelation rose.

_Evangeline McDowell…_


	32. Machina Eden 01: War

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**  
Machine Arc Episode One**

**  
Battle**

**  
**Jeremy Colt– Person With Many Aliases' "he-gets-around" Mary Sue (or so his creator jokes) original character /Author Semi-Assistant, the so-called Fake Angel, genetically-enhanced psychic warrior from the post World War II era and a guy with a very bad headache– grumbled.

Part of that headache was due to being in a Sheo Darren fan fiction, the said World's primary law in effect being random insanity. Earlier Nazareth summed it up pretty well: "I just drop in by accident –no plan at all, just the plot device–, and I get nuked?"

The answer, of course, is a resounding "Yes."

The latest chapters, however, saw the infamous "Sheo Darren Effect" greatly weakened. This change probably started after the Author entered college. The frenetic inanity of the high school-era _The Wedding Night 2_ –Colt still wondered what the hell had Sheo and his gang been smoking back then; he understood Lone Wolf ZERO still possessed a supply of whatever it was– and earlier chapters of _TWWAW_ was gone. Serious drama and romance now stood supreme, with random bits of polished humor here and there.

Oh, and the fight scenes had improved.

_Hmmm,_ Colt considered. _Maybe Authors did mature. Except Person hasn't done so yet. May never, actually, which is both good and bad._

Here he was, hijacking a cellular communications office in order to raise ruckus and attract maybe a heavy-hitting (in fighting terms) local or two, all for the sake of finally finding someone who could kill him.

He should have known better. This was _The World Within And Without_.

Half the day was gone already. Yet there was no sign of anyone. And by anyone, he meant intelligent, self-aware individuals. Not necessarily human. He'd take what he could get.

But: No SWAT. No local cops. No FBI, NSA, CIA, IRS or USA. No Sections One, Two or Five Million And Negative One Half Point Six. No Childville or Handsome Men (or Persons, for the politically correct folks out there; then again, Fate forbid there be more than one Person WMA– okay, bad pun…) No Mithril, Amalgam, Adamantium, Gundanium or Super Z Alpha Alloy. No fucking people at all. Not even a robot or two.

Sure, it was fun to use the office's high speed Internet connection to kill time (though he'd rather kill people). Colt downloaded a ton of Dizzy pictures for his secret shrine back home (safely hidden behind a fake wall to protect against Person's desecrating eyes and big mouth) and maybe half the H Games in the world (he actually sniffed after finishing Key's _Planetarian_; even angst-laden sorts enjoy sappy love stories once in a while) while waiting. Those items now waited inside his brand new I-Pod (conveniently lifted from some random girl he passed by) for later transfer to his PC.

**  
**"Fate-_chan_! Some weird stranger stole my I-Pod!"

"What? Who took it, Nanoha? Let's find that man!"

Takamachi Nanoha and Fate Testarossa ran off.

**  
**But his main reason for taking over an important communications relay station in the heart of _TWWAW_– to attract the attention of a powerful fighter by whose hands Colt could get his ass killed at last, but not before doing his damnedest to make everything as difficult as possible for said benefactor– was still unfulfilled.

Finally, bored beyond even his migraines' effect, he snapped at the air:

"Where the fuck is everyone?"

**  
Location: Somewhere in Alaska**

They kept coming. Endless waves emerged from hidden bunkers. Hundreds of them, thick as any Korean Starcraft player's Zerg rush swarm and far more powerful. They scrambled across the frozen tundra and at the defenders.

Zoids. Unmanned robotic animal war machines from the Planet Zi– here on Earth. Most of them were the smaller models, though medium-weight types like the Shield and Blade Liger frequently appeared. Interspersed amongst the lighter mecha's ranks were occasional heavyweights: Iron Kongs, Redhorns, Darkhorns, Gojulas. Filling the skies above their heads were Silver Pteras and Black Redwing flying-types.

A veritable wall of weaponry hammered at all of them. Their front ranks burst apart from a torrential hailstorm of energy beams and solid slugs. Ultra-long range anti-armor mortars and precision bombardment rockets screamed down on their heads. Explosions shattered the landscape into unrecognizable pulp. Zoids died en masse.

They came on. Heavy units like the Darkhorn or Gojulas lumbered onwards, apparently unaffected by individual fire. (That was quickly solved by concentrated fire.) What Zoids bore ranged weapons returned fire on the run. Those that reached their dug-in targets yowled in electronic glee as they bit and slashed and clawed. And for every one the defenders destroyed, a new one rushed into its place.

From the point of view of a distant observer, it seemed a hopeless battle for the side of Good.

If any of the defenders heard that comment voiced out, though, the commentator would have had his ass kicked instantaneously in a million different ways.

**  
**Dana Sterling repeatedly thumbed the firing stud button of her Veritech Hover Tank's HOTAS (Hands On Trigger And Stick). The GERWALK-mode mecha's monster main gun roared with each squeeze. Each phenomenally accurate and powerful shot destroyed a Zoid. While her primary weapon recharged, Dana let loose long bursts with the triple-barrel rotary cannon.

Her 15th Armored Tactical Assault Corps (ATAC) occupied a rare break in the rolling landscape, a low hill about ten meters tall. Here they made a stand. Half her command was GERWALK: squat, waddling war machines that resembled tank turrets on reverse-jointed legs. Basically walking artillery armed with a top-mounted ion cannon main gun and 30mm auto cannon, they blasted away at the Zoids at long range.

Her B Team fought as Battloids, fully humanoid and heavily armored 30-foot tall Robotech knights carrying energy rifles. These provided close-range cover for their GERWALK teammates and engaged Zoid stragglers with powerful fists and kicks, their manipulated shoulder-mounted armor pods easily deflecting both projectiles and melee blows.

Supporting them were a few battered Grizzly medium tanks and Pegasus hover missile launchers, some Hummer and Warthog combat all-terrain vehicles, and a scattering of infantrymen with light anti-tank and automatic weapons. The motley force, remnants of Combat Command Chris's reconnaissance van, was mostly surrounded, badly outnumbered and slowly being outfought despite their best efforts.

**  
**Interrogation of the "Athens Incident" ringleader revealed that the Public Welfare Administration Bureau possessed hidden industrial bases scattered across the world. The only base their prisoner could give a generic location to was in Alaska.

Yuuki Darren dispatched an SDDF ground task force, "Combat Command Chris" (after the Bolo Mk XXV "Stupendous" self-aware continental siege tank D-1003-CRS she designated as task force commander), to investigate the area and capture or destroy the base.

Dana's 15th ATAC, accompanied by motorized infantry units, went ahead of the Bolo to scour the Alaskan tundra, looking for signs of a PWAB base.

They found way more than they bargained for.

Everyone had expected to fight mass-produced Robo-Ky or Robo-Sol. So there was understandable horror and panic when the first Zoid reared out of the landscape. The vanguard's lighter vehicles were easily destroyed or chased off. Casualties on the SDDF infantry were heavy.

The 15th ATAC was another story. The powerful Hover Tanks reconfigured and slugged it out head-to-head with the medium Zoids, buying their motorized allies time to disengage. Increasing numbers of enemy reinforcements and the appearance of heavyweight Zoids finally forced Dana's command back.

Now, their backs to the figurative wall, the 15th ATAC prepared to make another Thermopylae out of the nameless hill they occupied.

Then again, the latest barrage of supporting artillery fire arriving alongside two full squadrons of Vic Viper aerospace fighters, maybe this would be a Marathon instead of a losing battle.

Aside, Dana wondered if there were other survivors outside of her current force. She prayed that there were, that they could somehow get back safe and sound.

**  
**Private First Class Kusakabe Kanako, JSDA-SDDF, blazed away at the five-meter tall Zoids with her M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. The 5.56mm bullets didn't even buff the MDC (Mega Damage Capacity)-class armor. Still the fourteen-year old girl kept at the hopeless task. "Yaaahhh!"

Kanako had been separated from her squad by the Zoid ambush. The next half hour of her rapidly shortening life saw her dodging giant robots duking it out at close range. Now, cornered, she decided that it was better to die fighting than do nothing.

The bipedal Zoid shambled towards her. Kanako screamed back in fear/challenge, emptying her weapon's 200 round box magazine into the thing. No effect. The Zoid made to step on the frantically reloading girl.

A smoking missile trail found the robot's head. The decapitated Zoid stood still, very dead.

"You dumb kid," a familiar voice grumbled from behind her. Lieutenant Tetsu discarded his smoking Javelin anti-tank rocket launcher. "What did I tell you earlier?"

"Lieutenant Tetsu!" Kanako was delighted to find a commanding officer. "You're alive!"

"Of course I'm alive. I ran away." Drove was a more accurate term; Tetsu managed to get his hands on an abandoned Warthog. "You should, too."

"Run away? But we can't abandon our post!"

"Look about you, Private." Tetsu contemptuously gestured around them. "Our position is hopeless. Our teammates are dead or routed. Our orders were to recon the area, not to commit suicide by fighting robots with popguns. Now, follow orders and come with me!"

Kanako stood up, straightened her posture and saluted. "Yes, sir!" she enthusiastically reported before slinging her M249 SAW over her right shoulder. "Private Kusakabe Kanako, reporting for duty!"

_Kids these days,_ Tetsu sighed_. Whatever happened to the good old times with Lieutenant Mizuki? Come to think of it: where was she?_

**  
**Mizuki only tarried long enough to put on her thruster backpack and weapons before taking off. The Special Missions Team's prototype humanoid super weapon quickly accelerated to thrice the speed of sound.

_Hold on, Tetsu! I'm coming!_

D-1003-CRS "Chris" POV

_Had I been human, I would have probably shaken my head and groaned. Since I am a Bolo, I vector Captain Mizuki into the battle and inform all allied units of her impeding approach._

_I am nevertheless glad to command her. After all, Yuuki could have assigned Chise to me for "a dash of exciting risk". The so-called Ultimate Weapon is notoriously difficult to control. Oftentimes Chise goes berserk and destroys everything around without regard to allies. A double edged sword I will need to wield properly._

_But she is not here. Chise is in Machina Eden with her fiancé Shuuji. In her place, I have Mizuki. And myself._

_I was two hundred miles away from the vanguard in a command and control role when they were ambushed. Immediately I accelerated to my best sustainable speed and hurried to their aid._

_I cannot engage directly with my Hellbore lest I accidentally kill my allies due the close nature of the fighting. I can, and do, provide indirect artillery support using my rapid-fire mortars and bombardment rockets. Once I have closed the distance, I will cover the vanguard's retreat with my direct fire weapons and then destroy the PWAB industrial base by myself._

_Thinking of having sent those good soldiers into a trap enrages me to no end. I am a Bolo. I was built to protect humans from their enemies. Instead, they have died because of my well-intentioned orders._

_Regrets will not serve me. Action will. Perhaps I can still be forgiven._

_Battle Reflex Alert! My sensors detect a force of Silver Pteras-class flyer Zoids approaching. I switch to Battle Reflex Mode, lock all my infinite repeaters and fire. Not one of them survives._

_Just in time. Shibamura Industries-built heavy lifters roar over my head. Air superiority jets– Vic Viper Mk IIs and an ATX-02 Morgan– streak ahead of them to engage enemy aerial forces. Slower A-10 Thunderbolt II attack jets and AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters hug the ground as they catch up to me._

_Reinforcements have arrived._

**  
**"Team 5121! Go!"

The three Shibamura Industries Humanoid Walking Tanks parachuted from their massive eight-engine V/STOL mother carrier. All three mecha hit the ground running just twenty seconds later and entered battle almost immediately.

The red tandem-seat Samurai 10 "leader" unit took point, spraying the incoming horde with its assault rifle before spawning a host of laser-guided anti-armor missiles from its backpack-mounted missile launcher pods. Its gray single-seat HWT teammates guarded its flanks, one armed with a slower-firing but more powerful bazooka, the other swinging a monster sword almost as long as it was tall.

Team 5121 and five other HWT teams battled their way towards the badly pressed 15th ATAC. "15th ATAC, 15th ATAC, this is Team 5121" Shibamura Mai, pilot of Team 5121's Samurai 10 unit, radioed. "Report, over."

"Good to see you, 5121," Dana replied. "We were just about to pull out on our own. We've been fighting for hours and are beat up bad."

"Understood. We'll cover your retreat. Get on board our lifters and return to Base Chris–" the Bolo was also escorting mobile repair units– "for refuel and rearm. Then get back as quickly as possible. We might be the ones needing rescuing," Mai self-deprecatingly admitted.

"Roger that, 5121. Thanks a lot. We'll be back ASAP, you can be sure of it." Dana sent out the order out to her weary men. The battered 15th ATAC Hover Tanks reconfigured into Standard Mode, waited for their remaining infantry support to climb aboard and zipped out of the area.

As Mai brought the Samura 10 HWT to face the oncoming Zoids, her backseater/copilot, Atsushi Hayami, glanced upwards to what he hoped was a friendly sky.

**  
**They called him the Single Red Wing after his habit of painting his planes' right wing red. He did so to commemorate a fateful mission he completed with a damaged wing. Hence his other nickname: Solo Wing.

He led his Vic Viper Mk II wingmen into the heart of an aerial no man's land. He himself flew an ATX-02 Morgan, the tip of the cutting spear, ECM shields parting aside enemies and attacks, laser and cluster missiles wiping out his targets.

Once, he was a misguided warrior. Now he made penance for his sins and fought for the innocent once more.

He reigned supreme. Before him, all manner of foes died. No Zoid proved more than a few seconds' worth of his time.

Only one man could beat him him. And that man was his friend, so far away now.

His call sign was Pixy.

He was an Ace.

**  
**Ten thousand feet below, another pilot was hard at work.

"You sure you want to go straight in?" Eah Osborne yelled over the hum of his Jet Orca's vetronics. "I can drop you off a bit farther from the battle; give you a bit of breathing room…"

The helmeted head of the solitary figure occupying the thirty-man-capable cargo bay shook in the negative. "I can do more good there. Besides, there are soldiers on the ground that may need evacuation."

"Gotcha." To his copilot partner, Eah grinned. "Buckle up, Nav! We're going in!"

Sighing, Lavi Hevv expertly set all systems to Battle Mode. The ECS-protected Jet Orca hurtled into the madness at 300 miles per hour just a hundred feet above masses of Zoids. They spotted their target quickly enough.

**  
**Tetsu's commandeered Warthog ATV chewed up the landscape as easily as a missile would. The Lieutenant drove like a madman for good reason. Four Blade Raptors were hot on their tail, snapping like mad. "Where the hell is our pick-up?"

Kanako manned the flatbed-mounted heavy machine gun. She destroyed one pursuer with a flurry of lucky head shots and crippled a second. The other two Zoids closed in. The girl desperately reached for the last loaded Javelin launcher.

Two Hellfire missiles turned the pursuing Blade Raptors into bright pyres of flaming metal. Tetsu brought the Warthog into a sliding stop, nearly throwing Kanako off. "Eeek!"

**  
**"Wooh!" The Haribon Agila's howl of glee filled the cabin. "Scratch two Raptors! Nice shooting, Nav!"

Lavi had to smile back at her partner's enthusiasm. "Let's get those soldiers out of there."

"Roger that!" The all-black Orca slowed and approached the Warthog. Eah dropped the ECS to send a "we're friendly" message via blinker light. In the back, their single passenger readied himself for action.

**  
**"It's an Osprey!" the bruised but happy Kanako exclaimed upon seeing their savior.

"Not just any Osprey," Tetsu corrected, recognizing that Filipino madman Osborn's customized tilt-engine transport jet. The Orca's wing-mounted jet engines swung down, allowing it to hover in place like a helicopter. The aircraft turned around, its rear cargo ramp lowering to reveal a fully armored helmeted soldier carrying a monster rail gun.

"Master Chief!"

"Get on board," the genderless, electronically-synthesized voice stated. Master Chief walked down the ramp, raised his weapon and fired. Instantly Kanako swung the Warthog's flatbed cannon around as Tetsu gunned the ATV towards the Orca's ramp.

A pack of Blade Raptors– minus the one Master Chief just killed– closed.

**  
**_You won't touch Tetsu,_ Mizuki swore as her weapons found the range.

**  
**A strange humming sound filled the air. Anti-armor cannon rounds tore into the Zoids' ranks. The Blade Raptors scattered.

Not bothering to look up (his helmet HUD told him his back-up's identity) Master Chief destroyed a second Raptor. By this time the Warthog managed to fit itself inside the Orca's cargo bay. The super soldier made for the aircraft, scoring two more kills on the way.

Kanako covered his retreat with the Warthog's cannon. When the gun clicked empty, she picked up the Javelin and scored a double-cripple. The launcher's exhaust barely missed a cursing Tetsu.

With Master Chief aboard, the Orca took off. Eah brought the business end of his plane about and shot up a couple of Zoids with his chain gun. "Mess with _da_ man, huh?" he challenged over the speakers.

Lavi launched a pair of Hellfires on independent tracking mode. "Let's get out of here, Eah!" she yelled over the explosions.

"Okay, Nav! _Botaks _time!" The Orca converted to aircraft-mode and quckly accelerated.

**  
**Mizuki's follow-up anti-armor cluster munitions ripped apart the main body of Blade Raptors. Gunning down the survivors with her auto cannon arm, she searched for more Zoids. None remained.

Satisfied that the area had been sanitized of enemies, she caught up with the Orca. Eah gave her a thumb's up through the transparent cockpit glass. Mizuki smiled back. "I'll escort you out of the area," she offered over the radio.

"O RYLY?" He ducked Lavi's swat. "Thanks!"

"Also, can I talk with one of your passengers? To Lieutenant Tetsu, please."

"_Sige ba!_" Eah flicked the intercom on. The sounds of a Warthog being bolted in place greeted him. "_Hoy, Tinyente!_ Long distance call! It's your girlfriend!"

Mizuki blushed.

**  
**Tetsu wondered just who was disturbing him at a time like this. And what's with the "girlfriend" comment? He was already married, for God's sake. With a glare directed at the beaming Kanako, he picked up the phone. "Yeah?"

"Hello, Lieutenant Tetsu," a familiar voice greeted. "It's been a long time."

**  
**Following orders, the HWT team disengaged and retreated at full speed. Scenting victory, the Zoids bulled through the swiftly fragmenting defensive lines. A Liger occupied the hard-won hill and roared in triumph despite strafing and artillery.

The ground rumbled. Lasers mercilessly raked the Zoids' formations. The assault stalled. Then the whole world turned a roaring bright white, the last thing they knew.

D-1003-CRS "Chris" POV

_The HWT Teams having pulled out of the area, I can finally enter battle. I first stagger the enemy advance with a barrage from my infinite repeaters before firing my Hellbore at near-point blank range, destroying over forty percent of the Zoids massing on the hill._

_Around me, the HWT and rearmed 15th ATAC regroup. Aerial cover is provided by Pixy's team. I watch A-10s shred Zoids with their cannon and cluster bombs while the Apaches pick off individual enemy units at long range with anti-tank Hellfire missiles._

_We advance. I intentionally use myself as bait to draw all enemy fire. My battle screens absorb 99.9854 of my enemies' attacks and channel that energy into my infinite repeaters, with which I retaliate. Above, Mizuki returns from escorting the special ops Orca and adds her own weapons to the fray._

_I select a music track from my vast database of data and play it at full volume. The Rohirrim sound track from _The Lord of the Rings_ has the desired effect. Inspired, my allies fight with double the fervor. We push the Zoids back at a steadily increasing pace._

_By isolating and tracking certain faint energy emissions similar to that of cold fusion power plants, I determine the enemy base to be inside the mountain range three hundred miles ahead. I lock my Hellbore onto the source of emissions and fire._

**  
**Absolute chaos reigned inside the PWAB Alaska Base command center. Almost every piece of electronic equipment blacked out. The men and women manning them were thrown aside as if rag dolls. Ugly sounds of things falling apart echoed all around.

The local PWAB commander angrily got back up on his feet. "What was that?" he demanded from his lieutenant.

"The Bolo hit us with its heavy plasma gun. The mountain took tremendous damage and is mostly destroyed. Our armor is also badly damaged. The next shot from the Bolo will probably penetrate and destroy our base completely."

As if to punctuate that possibility, the base shook again. "They're hitting us with conventional artillery!"

"Goddamn that girl!" the commander swore, forgetting to capitalize his words when referencing Yuuki Darren. "That's it! Activate our ultimate weapon!"

"But, sir! If we launch it now, it might–"

"Shut up and do what I ordered!"

As the technicians hastily complied, the commander glared at the viewing screen showing the Bolo attacking his base. "You think you're so superior? Well, we have our own super weapon now!"

**  
**Every man, woman and child in Combat Command Chris cheered as the mountain mostly disintegrated from the phenomenally destructive quasi-nuclear blast. The PWAB base was finally exposed. Chris hit it with a sustained bombardment of mortars and rockets. Pixy soared above the Bolo, gaining altitude to lance the base with the Morgan's tactical laser.

The ground trembled violently. Rock and soil showered upwards from the devastated mountain, obscuring the PWAB base in a cloud of brown-grey.

The battlefield hushed.

A saurian nightmare rose from the rubble. Titanic beyond belief, it dwarfed even the massive Bolo that had just destroyed its lair. Guns and missiles festooned the hulking fiend's armored body. Gigantic clawed hands flexed in anticipation. Its hundred-meter tail lashed about lazily, causing landslides in the diminished mountains behind it. Its first step shook the continent.

All of Alaska shuddered as the Deathsaurer roared.

**  
**Alarms rang aboard the Death Star's command center. Yuuki Darren viewed the latest development with distinct displeasure. "So the PWAB has gained the capability to construct a Deathsaurer." The impossible speed at which her foe's technological level increased was frustrating. Just what else did the bastards have in store for her in their other bases?

"Battle stations," That Girl ordered. "Prepare for space-to-ground combat!"

D-1003-CRS "Chris" POV

_The new enemy gives me pause. A Deathsaurer is a match for several Bolos. If I engage on my own, there is only an 8.5515 chance I can win._

_However, if I do not engage, the humans I command will be placed under danger. They cannot defeat this enemy._

_I cannot allow that._

_I gun my engines to battle sprint speed. Rush the Deathsaurer. Open fire with all my weapons. And give my command the order to retreat._

_I will hold off it as long as possible for Yuuki to destroy it with the Death Star's orbital cannon. I will protect the humans who are worthy of my protection._

_For the honor of the Regiment. For the honor of being a Bolo._

**  
**"You don't have to tell me that twice!" Given the retreat order, Eah shoved his throttles to max. The Orca leapt forward like a scalded cat. The surprise maneuver jolted his three passengers, but not as badly as the news Lavi passed over the intercom.

"A Deathsaurer?" Kanako trembled in fear. "How are we going to beat it?"

Tetsu patted her head. "Don't worry. They'll think of something." _After all,_ he thought, knowing _his_ Lieutenant from old was alive and stronger than ever, _how can we, the invincible Mizuki Squad, lose?_

**  
**The Deathsaurer's shields withstood every single laser, rocket, mortar and high-energy plasma blast Chris threw at it. Roaring in rage, it retaliated with its own powerful lasers and missiles. Battle screens flared with every hit. Still the big Terran super tank thundered forward, firing again and again, covering its hastily retreating command.

A red laser beam raked the Zoid's flank. Pixy dodged AA fire and fired off a cluster rocket barrage. Yellow-red explosions dotted the Deathsaurer's body. The Morgan speedily circled for another pass.

Mizuki darted in as well. Aiming for individual weapons systems, she disabled the quad laser cannon mount on the Deathsaurer's back. As such, Pixy had an easier time attacking the Zoid's blind side on his second pass.

The anti-air danger minimized, the Vic Vipers joined in as well. So did the 15th ATAC and HWT Teams. Standard Mode Hover Tanks dashed in to pepper the Deathsaurer's legs with energy beams. Anti-Armor Blades snapped again and again upon the alien alloy armor protecting the Zoid. Undeterred, the HWTs continued attacking at close range.

The Deathsaurer's tail slammed down, flinging away the obnoxious gnats pricking at its legs. Armored segments flipped open to reveal the muzzles of missile launchers. A storm of needle-tipped bombardment missiles filled the sky. Several Vic Vipers were impaled and destroyed. (Not the Morgan, though, its ECM field diverted more than thirty warheads away from it.) The rest of the missiles angled down towards Chris.

The Bolo's infinite repeaters shot down 98 of the incoming missiles. Recharged battle screens absorbed the remainder. Chris let loose with the Hellbore once more. Plasma fire blanketed the Deathsaurer– or rather, splashed upon the angry red energy shield.

The towering robot dinosaur relentlessly shambled forward. All attacks to this point had inflicted little damage on its armored hide. Even the Hellbore, it seemed, could not hurt it.

The Deathsaurer roared. The energy collector fan on its back whirred. Bright energy particles began to gather within its gaping maw.

"Shit!" Pixy cursed. He'd seen this before: at the Excalibur laser cannon fortress he once defended. "It's going to fire its super laser!"

D-1003-CRS "Chris" POV

–_at me._

_I do not hesitate. I bring myself to face the Deathsaurer's primary weapon and divert all power to my battle screens. It will not be enough to save me. But perhaps enough of my allies will survive._

**  
**Pixy sent the Morgan into a controlled dive. _If we lose Chris, we've got no chance of stopping that monster. Maybe the Morgan's ECM Field can stop the beam. Or at least weaken it so that Chris can survive. Anything will do!_

_Looks like I won't be able to see you again, Garm One. Maybe it's for the best, buddy. So: see you…_

**  
**Dana mechamorped her Hover Tank into its GERWALK form, maxed out her optical scanners and zoomed on the Deathsaurer's mouth. _If I can hit it–_ She fired.

The awesome energies gathering within the Zoid's jaws bent the piffling (in comparison) ion beam aside.

**  
**The Charged Particle Gun fired.

**  
D-1003-CRS "Chris" POV**

_I brace for impact._

**  
**Timing the move just right, Pixy flew the Morgan straight into the beam's path, left side facing the attack.

Nothing happened.

D-1003-CRS "Chris" POV

_Am I dead?_

**  
**That was the same question Pixy asked himself. The next one was: "Did I miss?" But the Bolo was still there.

He looked over his left shoulder. The Ace winced at the spectacularly harmless lightshow.

**  
**"What happened?" The PWAB commander was nearing his sanity's breaking point. "Why is the Charged Particle Beam not working?"

"It is working, sir! But–" The technician gestured. "Look!

**  
**The Charged Particle Beam had fired, indeed. However, the sustained annihilation blast terminated about five hundred feet or so from its mouth.

Stopping the attack in place was a bright blue-white shield rather akin to a Lambda Driver, but far more powerful in scope. Within it–

**  
**"_Onee-sama_,_"_ the girl newly arrived from the Death Star swore to her far-away inspiration, "Watch me now as I become a true Nonoriri!"

**  
**The monster energy assault attack fizzled into nothingness. The Deathsaurer howled in impotent fury at the girl who foiled its rampage.

**  
**A magnificent mane of pink-red flew like a proud banner on a windy day. Clear blue eyes fixed an exigent gaze upon the black Zoid. The girl wore a fancy body suit and a brave expression. Her arms were folded across her chest most imperiously and famously.

"Imperial Terran Space Army! Buster Machine Number Seven! Nono!"

**  
**"Buster Machine?" The PWAB commander slumped to his knees, having wet his pants in shock. _"Gunbuster_?"

**  
**Nono held her arms above her head and swiftly gathered power for her own assault. **"BUSTER–"**

**  
**Snarling, the Deathsaurer brought up its own shield.

**  
"–BEAM!"**

Yelling out the last word, Nono's arms snapped forward as if hurling the red ball gathered upon her fingertips at the Deathsaurer. Her energies sliced outwards into a thin red beam barely as wide as her arm.

The Buster Beam cut through air, the Deathsaurer's defensive shield, front chest armor, power core, rear armor, shield, air, space, a couple of stray satellites and meteors, space again, a cloaked Predator ship, more space...

Nono, still sustaining her attack, then brought her arms apart–

**  
**"Shit, not that way!" Dana remembered Jupiter's moon Titan and how the humanoid Buster Machine had first pieced that small planet through with that very same attack, and then sliced in half by accident using the follow-up move that was coming. "Don't do that!"

**  
**But Nono had learned from that incident. So:

–horizontally, her outstretched limbs forming a V with a foot or so between her hands that pointed to their respective sides. **"SLICE!"**

As it was, she barely missed a good number of mountains, airplanes, satellites, spaceships and even the Moon, the twin crimson lines of the Buster Beam Slice extending for hundreds of thousands of miles. But she did avoid inadvertently cutting the Earth in half as she'd done with Vulcan.

She had also sliced the Deathsaurer in half. The Zoid was effectively dead. It was also about to catastrophically explode in a few more moments, its pierced power core overloading into an explosion that would destroy everything around it for hundreds of miles.

"Oops," Nono mumbled. Mizuki wondered who was worse: Nono, or Chise.

"And just when we thought we've won," Pixy began when the whole of their surroundings rippled with power.

**  
**It was too much for even Yuuki Darren's considerable power and mastery of The Will And The Word to move the Deathsaurer over a great distance to a safe place even if she borrowed Rheo's power to augment her own– as she did now.

Perhaps she could have done it had she called upon a second source just recently revealed– but she immediately dismissed that idea. Childish of her, really, but she was a being formed by her biases. Everyone was petty in one way or another. Certainly Fate was.

Besides, her sister would never acquiesce without payment. Yuuki would rather die from her own ineptitude rather than admit to assistance on such a minor matter. After all, the Earth wasn't going to die if the Deathsaurer exploded; just that the next fifty millennia or so would see the upper half of the North American continent a radioactive hotspot.

This standpoint comes from the same girl who wanted to save the world by unleashing the Gears.

So she decided to simulate another power that could solve the day.

Yuuki took off her glasses. Technically she was eligible to receive the power she planned on copying. After all, she did fulfill the primary requirement: a near-death experience.

She ignored the fact that she _had_ died for real. Technicalities…

Reshaping The Will And The Word to do something else took a lot of experience, finesse and skill. That Girl possessed over a hundred years (not a billion, as Person might think) of all three. She focused. Yes, she could see them now.

The lines were everywhere. Jagged and black, they covered every conceivable surface. Ignoring the tremendous damage that sustained use of the power inflicted upon her admittedly durable physical body, Yuuki sought the Deathsaurer's lines, traced their roots, found the ominous circular nexus that was their origin. She poured her Will, mouthed a single Word that became her weapon, and stabbed the heart of that black web, the Akashic Deletion Button.

"Disappear."

**  
**The Deathsaurer faded away and vanished.

**  
**Utterly exhausted, Yuuki slumped into the command chair. Mimicking Tohno Shiki's "Lines of Death" was far more draining than expected. "I need more mental training," she decided, Willing her body to auto-repair, her eyes closing, tired beyond belief.

She felt strong, gentle, familiar arms lift her from her seat. "Loki…"

"Rest, Yuuki. You'll need it."

Nodding weakly, she allowed herself to slip into unconscious. But not before she heard a familiar voice enter her mind and chide, _you should have asked for my help, Yuuki-_chan

_Never, _Yuuki silently retorted before blacking out.

**  
**Four shrugged. "Well, Negi," she told her paramour, "It looks like we'll have to postpone visiting Yuuki-_chan_ for a while."

Negi sighed in relief. "Instead," Four suddenly said, "We'll spar and improve your martial arts skill!" She transformed her clothing into a cute version of Akuma's outfit. "Haiii-yaahhhhhhh!

"Ah, wait! Ack!"

**  
**The capture of the Alaska Base revealed the whereabouts of the PWAB other bases. Since all of them were situated in remote locations, it was decided by Loki (who assumed temporary authority, what with Yuuki sound asleep for the foreseeable future) to bombard them into oblivion with the Death Star's super laser rather than staging a lengthy military campaign.

Everyone in Combat Command Chris cheered. No one wanted to fight another Deathsaurer.

**  
**After the clean-up operation, Dana, Mai, Hayami, Pixy, Mizuki and Nono gathered upon Chris's sloping right flank to relax and chat as the sun set. "Thanks for the assist earlier, Mai," Dana was saying. "You saved our asses back there."

"No problem. But it was really a team effort. Every one of us did our part to win. Especially Nono-_chan_," Mai said. The girl in question blushed in happiness.

"**Agreed,"** Chris said, sealing the friendly argument.

Pixy brought out a flask of smooth brandy. The Ace didn't drink often, but their victory merited celebration. "Anyone up for a drink?"

Dana raised her hands apologetically. "Thanks but no, Captain. I'm still seventeen. I'm not allowed to drink."

"Me, too," Mai chimed in. "Same here," was Hayami's sheepish apology.

Nono giggled a "No."

"Kids." Pixy regarded Mizuki speculatively. The Special Missions Team cyborg weapon shook her head. "I don't drink," the woman smiled, "But I know someone who might be interested in taking up your offer."

**  
**At the supply base– where Eah raised a ruckus, Lavi chased after her infuriating partner and Master Chief proceeded to an enclosure to take off the battered armor– Lieutenant Tetsu sneezed. "Bless you," Kanako promptly said.

**  
**"In fact," Mizuki stood up, "I think I'm going to go see him now."

"Cheers to the two of you, then." Pixy raised the flask to the suddenly blushing woman. To their surprise, Chris suddenly spoke.

"**I would like to share a drink with you, Captain, since it is sad and unhealthy for anyone to drink alone."**

The Ace laughed. "Gladly, buddy." To his companions' chuckles and his commander's "health", Pixy poured some of the brandy down the flintsteel hull. "Cheers!"

"**Cheers."**

**  
**Colt grumbled for the he-lost-count-of-how-many times-already time. Still no one appeared. What the hell was going on, anyway? Was there a war or something that he didn't know of?

The door to the office complex opened. "Finally…" Colt got up– and stared.

Chloe froze. "You…"

**  
**"I fucking hate you, Sheo."

**  
_to be continued_**


	33. Machina Eden 02: Machina Eden

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**  
Warning: **Certain scenes are meant for mature audiences, which I assume we all are. So: Lone Wolf-san, Nik-san, don't be shocked. And Person-san? Enjoy.

**  
Machina Eden Arc**

**  
Episode Two**

**  
Machina Eden**

**  
**She dreamed.

She could not dream. She was not equipped or programmed for the motion. She did not need them, either.

But here she was, dreaming.

She dreamed of a bright white light hovering just out of her reach. She was drawn to it and kept trying to grab it. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not catch it.

She almost wept. (That was another thing. Tears?)

_Why? Why can't I reach it?_

_Because,_ a voice so much like Robo Ky's suggested, _you are not really trying. You have to really want it to get it._

_I want it._

_Then reach for it now._

She did. Her hands prepared to take that glowing future into her body.

**  
**Meka Hisui slowly came conscious. _A dream?_ She sat up and optically scanned her surroundings.

She sat on a reinforced metal table. Around and above her were robotic arms ending in various power tools: drills, screwdrivers, soldering irons and the like. These devices suggested she was in a repair facility for human-sized robots.

Two insignias decorated the armored sliding doors. One was the cosmic shield and sword of the Strategic Dimensional Defense Force. The other was a circular symbol with a mechanical hand reaching for a human hand and the words "Machina Eden".

Machina Eden? It roughly translated to "Machine Paradise". _Is that the name of the SDDF's holding facility for prisoners of war?_

She blinked. _I am now capable of thoughts?_

The metal doors slid open. A blonde girl wearing cute red mechanic clothes walked in. "Ah!" she exclaimed, seeing Meka Hisui active. "You're awake at last! That is good." She bowed. "My name is Ciel. I'm one of the head people here at Machina Eden."

Ignoring the girl's introduction, Meka Hisui hopped off the bed. Ciel ran to her side. "Ah, I suggest you take it slowly, Miss… Meka Hisui, is that right? You've only been repaired recently. You might still be unused to your new body parts…"

Somehow Meka Hisui was unable to even shove her aside. A quick self-check revealed a foreign device inside her head that actively suppressed violent actions and thoughts. Her thought matrix seemed perfectly untouched, though, and her primary directive remained: destroy the free-willed Robo Ky.

Of course she couldn't fulfill her mission while the suppressor remained inside her head. She was surprised to find that she was able to process insights. The new memory card, of course; her standard electronic brain was just enough to allow her independent combat operations.

_Why give me a memory upgrade if I am a prisoner? What is this Machina Eden place?_

She turned to Ciel– _I can remember extraneous names and faces now_– and asked, "Where am I?" Another surprise: _I can talk like a human being…_

"You're in Machina Eden. It's a city Sheo Darren built for sentient machines. While there are also humans here, the population mostly consists of robots, cyborgs and adroids. Mister Robo Ky brought you here to be repaired."

Robo Ky. Mention of her target revitalized her thought processes. "Where is he?"

"Give a moment, please. Central," Ciel asked the thin air, "Please locate Mister Robo Ky."

"**Robo Ky is at the Planetarian Park."**

"Thank you, Central. Our central overseer computer," Ciel explained. "He supervises Machina Eden's automated services. If you get lost or have any question, just ask him. He has sensors all over the city so you can contact him anywhere, anytime."

Meka Hisui found her head tilting politely. "Thank you." She marched out the room.

Ciel sighed. _I hope this was a good idea, Robo Ky-san…_

**  
**Sunlight bored through the mica-glass windows to pester the two lumps beneath the sheet. After a while the bigger form stirred, yawned loudly, sat up and stretched his arms out. The light blinded him some.

Yet Jeremy Colt felt… nice. Which was an odd sensation. Not that he didn't like it. Oh, and his headaches were gone. Without needing a single pill.

_That was all I needed? Fuck. Literally. FUCK!_

His harsh laugh disturbed the sleepyhead next to him. "Colt," a petulant, childish voice grumbled, "If you can't sleep, at least let me sleep."

Colt grinned. Taking hold of **her** side of the blanket, he yanked hard.

The suddenly exposed redhead occupying the other half of the bed bolted wide awake. One arm covering her nakedness, she grabbed at the "stolen" blanket. He half expected her to throw a knife at him, but apparently all her weapons had been left in her clothes, currently scattered here and there across the apartment. That was a wild night, all right.

"Damn it!" The girl was uncharacteristically embarrassed and furious. "Give it back!"

"What? Afraid someone else is gonna see your loveliness? I'm the only audience here, and I ain't complaining."

Pulling the blanket around her slim body, Chloe glared daggers at her irreverent bedmate. Colt only grinned. "You're adorable that way, y'know?" he commented.

Her pinks were slightly pink even as she gave him a death glare.

For the first time, Colt blessed– read: **BLESSED**– the stupid little Effect named after the Author of this World.

He came to TWWAW to fight. He got something better. Sure, he got a fight, too, and a good one it was. But the aftermath was just as good. Better, even.

He hadn't seen Chloe in a while. The last time was when he broke into her "duel" with Kirika back at the Manor, breaking up their quarrel and earning the enmity of both women in the process (and perhaps saving either, or even both, of their asses in the process.) From what Person told him later on, she'd joined up with Yuuki's aborted revolt and then immediately switched sides, following Kirika wherever the latter went and picking a fight with Noir's immortal swordsman boyfriend whenever she could. It was a lost cause, probably. That Elde guy was pretty slick.

So it was to Colt's stupefaction when Chloe burst into the building he'd invaded. The feeling was mutual.

**  
**_"Colt?"_

"_I fucking hate you, Sheo."_

**  
**And of course everything went downhill from there– up until the point where, with the building most demolished, Chloe a knife to his throat and Colt about to blast her away with his Magnum.

**  
**_"This reminds me of the old days," he grinned._

_Chloe sniffed._

_Colt stared as the sniff turned into sobs, then full-out weeping. Dropping her knife, Chloe shoved aside Colt's gun, buried her face into his chest and wept._

"_Where have you been all this time? Why didn't you come back for me? I already lost Mother and Kirika; all I had left was you. I waited so long, didn't want to give up hoping…"_

_Really confused, Colt thought the right thing to do was to reluctantly put his arms around her in a hopefully comforting manner. "Well, I'm here now."_

_Chloe sobbed._

**  
**"I can't believe this," Chloe grumbled to herself. "I didn't just lose Kirika to a man, but I also gave myself up to one as well. And to you, too, of all people…" Her late Mother would kill her for this transgression.

Or maybe laugh her head off at the delicious double irony, Colt guessed on his part. He always thought Altena was a wee bit knocked up in the noggin.

"Hey, don't take it too hard," he said with all seriousness. "More than half the female population of the world does that, too. And if you have to lose it, why not with moi?"

"Go to hell." She paused, remembering an embarrassing detail from the night before. "Hey… was this your first time, too, right?"

Colt's expression was difficult to describe but amusing anyway. Chloe laughed.

"Bitch!" His angry sputter was all the more for show. "You take that back!"

"Make me."

He playfully knocked her down on her back and pinned her. Chloe giggled like a little girl and put her arms around Colt's neck. They kissed.

The phone rang.

The Fake Angel cursed. "Fucking room service!"

"Ignore it."

"Can't, darling, it'll ruin the mood." Still on top of the tittering Chloe, Colt grabbed the phone. "You'd better have a good reason for calling, punk," he growled.

"Good morning, Crazy Horse."

Beneath Colt, Chloe tensed.

Crazy Horse. He hadn't been called that since forever. Well, since he quit the mercenary business, to be more exact. Anyway, everyone thought Crazy Horse was dead– except for one guy, the last man to see 666 Lives in person before Colt became "himself" again.

"Who's this?" Colt asked.

"An old friend and a customer. I need a hired gun."

He relaxed. "I'm listening," Colt gruffly said, glancing at the curious Chloe.

**  
**Machina Eden was surprisingly less high-tech than its name suggested. The city was built in a circular grid pattern. A wide, sloping low wall of thermoconcrete completely enclosed it. Double gates dotted it at regular intervals. The wall concealed powerful shield generators. In the case of an attack, Machina Eden would be completely enclosed by a defensive barrier rivaling that of the Death Star's while pop-up weapons turrets and remote activated minefields outside the walls fought off attackers.

Access to the city was mostly by air, most buildings having large helipads, though the sparsely-trafficked superhighways and well-tended streets could handle a sudden horde of ground vehicles if necessary. Buildings were relatively low– only eight stories tall at the most, and such height was rare– and covered many blocks. The vast majority were research laboratories, heavily reinforced against outside attack and the occasional explosive accident within their walls.

There were also massive housing complexes, some malls to provide entertainment and a swarm of parks and gardens. (Apparently, robots liked green environments almost as much as humans did.) At the heart of it all was a Vauban star fort-styled SDDF fortress housing a full Combat Command garrison. Local commander was Chao Rinshen, the city's primary designer and stranded in this timeline due to Sylphe Phenomena Eternal's Forbidding. Second-in-command was her "current time era" colleague Hakase Satomi.

Ciel occupied an important role as liaison and representative of the Reploid population of Machina Eden. Her extensive laboratory served as a home, school and "hospital" for Reploids. She built it for the public's easy access, so Meka Hisui encountered no difficulty in moving about the place.

Not ten steps out of the repair lab, a distantly spider-like robot on spindly limbs scurried over to guide her out of the laboratory and into the sleek streets. Within fifteen minutes the unlikely pair arrived at Planetarian Park.

The pretty girl waiting at the entrance beamed in welcome. A beret and ribbon topped her sky blue mane. Deep green eyes spoke of a watchful and attentive personality. Strange metal implements in place of ears revealed her mechanical origin; her face and the rest of her body, though, was completely human-looking. Her costume could be said to be a high-tech attendant uniform. Indeed the air she exuded was that of a dutiful servant.

Her ribbon caught Meka Hisui's attention. It changed color from yellow to blue. Text scrolled across its length. A bit of concentration allowed her to read out SCR 500 SJPL CAPEL II.

"Thank you, Tachikoma-san," the girl told the robot guide. "I will take over from here."

The bobbing Tachikoma actually turned red and chattered something nonsensical before scuttling off. The girl turned to Meka Hisui. "Miss Customer?" She bowed. "My name is Reverie Planetarian. I'm in charge of this park and its facilities. I've been told to expect you. Please follow me."

Reverie walked very much like an attendant: prim and tiny steps, small hands clasped together before her, constantly looking over a strangely-garbed shoulder to make sure that she had not left her "guest" behind. She was also very chatty.

"I understand you are a newcomer to Machina Eden, Miss Customer? Do you like it here? I dearly hope you do. This is a very nice place. Everyone here is very kind, even the humans…"

"Where is Robo Ky?" Meka Hisui brusquely interrupted.

Reverie's head dipped slightly as she gestured.

**  
**The man in black lowered his field glass. "I hate to say this," Rolito grumbled, "But I was right. Machina Eden is a really tough nut to crack. More than enough anti-ECS sensors and weaponry to blow us away the moment we get in range of them, so a head on assault is out of question. And it looks like sneaking into the SDDF base will be pretty difficult as well."

The boy lying prone next to him did not acknowledge the remark. "We have to rescue Elena," he stressed.

"Simmer down, Giuseppe-kun. We're going to rescue Elena-tan, all right. But it won't do for us to get captured as well." _Especially with those Goddamned bombs inside of you. _"So we have to be careful."

Two weeks ago, on a supposedly (so assured the intel weenies) easy training mission inside an abandoned factory, Rolito and his Amalgam cyborg students, Giuseppe and Elena, were ambushed by a task force of Italy's Social Welfare Agency anti-terrorist force. Outnumbered and outgunned, the threesome still inflicted heavy casualties on the Section One commandos with slick coordination and teamwork.

That was until six Section Two mechanical bodies arrived on scene.

The ensuing bloodbath saw Rolito shot in the right arm and right leg, Giuseppe injured and Elena captured after she got mobbed by three mechanical bodies. If not for a timely save by a squad of Amalgam Astral AS dispatched by Leonard Testarossa, Rolito would have probably been killed and Giuseppe made a prisoner as well.

He still limped a little and hated it.

Section Two did not get out of the fight unscathed. Every-lucky Rolito, wounded as he was, still managed to knock out one of the blondes– the one with the ponytails, right– by tricking her into a dead end and then dropping about half a ton of scrap iron on her twin-ponytailed head. Scratch one mechanical body.

Giuseppe did less well than his sensei. Apparently he again ran into that girl he first fought back on the Mirasol. In the ensuing awkwardness, he got shot by the girl's teammate. His "friend" had to save him again by actually holding off her eyeglasses-wearing partner until he could escape. Even now, Giuseppe wondered about the consequences for Henrietta helping him escape.

_I hope she's okay…_

Meanwhile Rolito just barely persuaded Leonard not to trigger Elena's self-destruct. _What does she have that the SDDF doesn't have already? And she can't point them to where we're hiding; she doesn't know where our base is. Hell, I get lost half the time I commute back here, and I know the way to this place like the back of my hand…_ He also managed to get approval for a rescue mission.

The Blue Force had a freaking fortress city chock full of too many guns and tanks and robots to count. Not to mention the mother of all humanoid weapons a.k.a. Chise, reported to be somewhere in the vicinity. Rolito **just** hated tactical nuclear delivery systems that went berserk all too often. More so the ones who were gushingly **cute** while at it.

And what did his side, the Red Force, send to the field? Two modified Venom AS –and those he'd left way outside Machina Eden– and a cyborg assassin child with a big knife.

Rolito suddenly grinned. He so **pitied** the Blue Force.

"So let's wait a while and get our plan right." _It's not like the SDDF would take Elena apart or something. That's only for us Amalgam bastards. She's probably enjoying her five star accommodations. Damn Sheo Darren's a sister-complex nut, after all._ "Got it?"

"Yes, sensei."

"Good boy. Here." Rolito handed over his binoculars. "I have to pick up our partners. Keep an eye on the park. The view there is absolutely fantastic." The senior assassin stood up (and cursed when, forgetting, he put too much weight on his injured leg) while Giuseppe did as ordered.

The boy's heart skipped a beat when he saw just what– or, rather, who– his sensei meant.

**  
**Entertaining a trio of cute Italian girls plus a Japanese junior high school girl and her boyfriend, Sumomo perched on his shoulder in the manner of a chirpy parakeet, Robo Ky felt at peace. The free-willed machine warrior enjoyed these quiet moments as a welcome change. Sometimes he wondered if he could ever come to live like this for the rest of his life.

Certainly he would fight and give up his life to see that day come– if not for him, then for the people around him.

"Robo Ky-san?" He turned to see Reverie bowing cutely. "Miss Meka Hisui is here to speak with you."

Behind the android attendant, the said Mecha Hanagumi member glared. Summomo immediately scrambled to safety behind Robo Ky's head. "Aiieee! Robo Ky! It's that scary girl again!"

Similarly the Japanese girl immediately clung to her tall boyfriend. "Shuuji…"

"Who's she, Robo Ky?" one of the Italian girls asked the mechanical swordsman, more curious than afraid. "Is she your girlfriend?"

"Silly Angie-chan," the diminutive Persocon clucked at her. "I'm Robo Ky's true love! Not that robot clone of Hisui!"

"Ah, sorry, Miss Sumomo…"

Somehow the sight of a palm-sized robot scolding a girl ten times or so her size struck Meka Hisui as– _odd? Strange? Funny?_

"Hello, Meka Hisui-san," greeted Robo Ky. "How are you?"

_What should I do? What should I say._

"My systems are all repaired and restored to full efficiency," she allowed. "I detect no malfunctions."

_Why did I say that? I could have said that better… Huh?_

"That is good to hear." He stood up. "This is Meka Hisui-san," Robo Ky introduced to his three Italian companions. "Girls, please introduce your selves."

"I'm Henrietta," the redhead– or brown-topped; Meka Hisui wasn't exactly sure how to differentiate the hair colors– happily introduced herself. Aside, 'Etta felt like someone was watching her from a distance…

(Giuseppe frowned/blushed. _Henrietta…_)

"Angelica," the girl with long black hair shyly murmured. "My friends call me Angie…"

"Rico," the boyish-looking blonde said.

Meka Hisui nodded. She looked at the Japanese pair intently, her programming to search for and capture Japanese specimens still operational, though her actions were stymied by the suppressor inside her head.

"Don't worry," Robo Ky told the pair. "She cannot harm you. She has a suppressor inside her head that prevents her from engaging in violent actions."

"That's a big offer there," the guy muttered. "I'm Shuuji." His arms tightened around his frightened girlfriend. "This is Chise. She's my girlfriend."

Chise managed a slight, scaredy-cat smile. "Hello…"

And Meka Hisui stared.

A voice, huge and electric, filled her electronic consciousness. It rolled past her internal defenses, swamped the ethereal core of her being and drowned her into a sensation she never encountered previously: overwhelming fear.

**  
_If you dare threaten me or Shuuji or my friends, I will kill you._**

**  
**When her systems recovered and she came conscious once more, Meka Hisui found herself on her knees, back arched and head looking up so that she was staring at the clear blue sky, and a worried Robo Ky holding her by the shoulders.

"Meka Hisui-san? Are you all right?"

She found their close proximity– _threatening? Disturbing? Embarassing?_ Meka Hisui pushed him away. She– _hated herself? Wanted him to keep holding her?_ "What happened?" she asked, dazed as a robot could be.

"…just blanked out," Sumomo commented, "Like you fainted or something…"

"What happened?" Henrietta, Angelica and Rico asked simultaneously.

She glanced at Chise. The girl still clung to Shuuji in apparent fear.

**_Remember what I said,_** the crushing voice– **her** voice– told Meka Hisui grimly. **_Remember…_**

**  
**_Chise._

_Saishū Heiki Kanojo._

_She, The Ultimate Weapon._

**  
**Meka Hisui shivered.

**  
**Rolito took half an hour to detect them. "Okay, guys, can you stop messing with me?" For extra effect he threw his arms up in surrender. "I know I'm old and outdated, but you don't have to rub it into my face, you know."

The figure that materialized out of the greenery looked better than the last time they saw each other– which was something notable. Personally Rolito suspected the man was immortal and a regenerator. He'd seen weirder stuff.

"You need more practice," the newcomer drawled, then added as an afterthought, "Rouge."

"I haven't used that codename for a long time," Rolito wryly murmured.

"Probably because it's a sissy call sign…"

"How did you know it was me?"

"You were about the last person who saw me alive. I kind of figured things out soon enough." Jeremy Colt shrugged. "So what do you want me to do?"

"Who's your friend?" Rolito gestured to the shrubbery. The man in black could sense, but not specifically locate, another person. _A girl?_ He thought he faintly recognized her.

"An old friend of mine. We just met again a couple of days ago."

"Nice to hear about your reunion. Will she be joining us?"

"Maybe." The grinning Colt turned to a tree not ten feet from where Rolito guessed her to be. "Hey, Chloe! Wanna tag along?"

An infuriated silence at having her identity revealed answered.

"She says, yeah, why not," he translated. "She also says you're much older than she last remembered."

"We all get older," Rolito allowed. "Save you, of course."

"You said it. So what's the plan?"

"You rush in and raise as much hell as possible. My partner and I will go retrieve our objective." He was deliberately vague about the specifics of his mission; after all, Colt was still an Author Assistant of sorts who might end up telling certain people once they were done. "After we're done, we'll back you up if you need any help."

"Don't mind if you do. When's the gig?"

"Tonight."

**  
**The afternoon wore on.

Ciel, Robo Ky and Sumomo watched the rather uncertain Meka Hisui serve as the object of adulation for Henrietta, Angelica and Rico. "They like her," the lone human amongst the trio said.

"They do," Robo Ky agreed.

"I thought only little boys liked robots," Sumomo opined.

Ciel chuckled. "Children are always curious," she explained. "And though these girls are cyborgs themselves, they are still children with a proper sense of awe for things like a walking, talking robot girl."

"How is the de-cyborging process, by the way?" asked Robo Ky.

"There's some promise. Mostly we're trying to repair or remove the negative effects of the conditioning." The Reploid expert sighed. "But some of the girls are so far gone that it might be too late for them."

"You mean Angie-chan."

"Yes. She's the prototype and the one who was on conditioning the longest, so she has all the bugs that were never really worked out. It's very difficult to replace brain tissue and practically impossible to repair them. Rico's given us some problems, too. She didn't want to go back to being crippled. When I told her we could replace her cybernetics with organics so that she could still move around, she agreed at last."

"How did Jean-san take it?"

"Pretty well. Actually, if he hadn't changed his opinion of Rico being a tool and kept dosing her with conditioning, we wouldn't have a chance of saving her despite our technology."

"Mireille has really cut him down to size, hasn't she?" Sumomo interjected.

"I wouldn't say that aloud," though Ciel did smile. The unspoken and restrained but rather obvious relationship between Jean and Mireille Bouquet had become almost as popular a topic of gossip and jokes in Section Two as the Triela-Hillshire pairing. "But yes, you may say that…"

"And Chise?"

"We've all but given up hope. The weapon cell has fully integrated itself into her body. Removing it will probably kill her– if she doesn't kill us in the process defending herself. And I don't think she believes– or wants– to go back to being human."

"Shuuji and I believe you can save her, Ciel-san."

"Thank you for your confidence, Robo Ky-san. Anyway, I want to talk to you about Meka Hisui-san."

He shook his head. "My decision remains the same. Besides, the suppressor is already inside her head."

"As are the memory and voice upgrades you requested. Still, I think we should have rewritten her mission programs, at least." And this was from a girl who dedicated her life and dreams to helping Reploids gain equal moral and legal standing as human beings.

"She's not like any of my children," Ciel confessed. "She was built from the start as a killing machine. It's her nature. She can't help it. The moment she gets a chance, the moment the suppressor goes down, she will attack you."

"Her computer core is her heart and soul. I do not wish to force changes on her. She must freely choose to change herself."

"If that is even possible…"

"It is. If I did it, why can't she?" Robo Ky gripped his sword. "And if I need to, I will help her in any and all ways that I can. That, I swear upon my sword and my soul."

**  
**"Can you really fire off your arms like in all the cartoon shows?" the curious Angelica asked.

"Yes."

"And laser beams from your eyes?" posed Rico.

"Yes…"

Meka Hisui saw no point to their questioning. What possible military application could benefit from such mundane information? But she couldn't blow them up, push them from her or even run away. She endured.

Henrietta shyly tugged at her arm. "What is it?" Meka Hisui asked.

"Um, do you like Mister Robo Ky?"

Unable to blink nor be surprised, the robot did not do so. "No."

"But you seem to be old friends…" Henrietta remembered the mechanical knight carefully cradling Meka Hisui when he first arrived at Machina Eden, and again when the robot girl "fainted" earlier. In fact the two sort of acted like Giuseppe (her handler, not the boy who bore his name and face) and herself.

"We are not friends. We are enemies. My mission is to destroy him."

"But even enemies can become friends, right?"

"That is a foolish and stupid idea. One cannot trust enemies. Robo Ky is my enemy. I will destroy him."

Henrietta suddenly looked hurt. "I don't think you would still say that," she pressed softly, "If you really got to know him…" _Like I did for him…_

**  
**Giuseppe watched his reflection on the kukri blade. He thought of the girl who saved his life days ago, the girl he watched through binoculars as if he was a voyeur with ill intent towards her. But all he felt for her was admiration and respect and regret and something he couldn't quite define.

_Henrietta: thank you for saving my life. And I'm sorry I have to do this again to you. But–_

The kukri slipped back into its sheath with a decisive hiss. _Elena is my sister. I'll rescue you, Elena. I promise._

**  
**Elena did not look up even as the door opened to admit a tasty scent. "I'm not hungry," the girl defiantly murmured, burrowing into the comfy bed as if entrenching herself.

"If you don't eat," her female guard stated without rancor or interest, "You won't be strong enough to escape when the opportunity presents itself."

Small hands gripped the white pillows tight. "I'm not going to listen to you." _Not after you hurt my big brother._

"Then you're little more than a spoiled child."

The tiny form trembled. Still she refused to rise up to the goad._ Sensei always says that this is the way they weaken a prisoner. Well, I'm not going to give in! I won't listen to what they say! Especially you!_

Freda Claes Johansson tipped her glasses up her nose. "Would you like me to read you a story, then? It's a very nice one."

Despite herself, Elena peeked from behind her fortress of pillows. Claes smiled and began her story.

"Long ago, there was a Prince who loved pasta…"

**  
**Triela muttered underneath her breath. Despite complete repairs, she could still remember and almost feel the crushing pain of the thousand pounds of junk that had clobbered her unconscious during the anti-Amalgam operation not a week ago. Cause for yet another grimace. Oh, and her period was on.

It was probably the stupidest takedown of a junior intelligence agent in the whole history of Section Two, so stupid as to be criminal. And it was accomplished by a normal, un-augmented man almost as old as Chief Lorenzo and despite bullet holes in his arm and leg courtesy Triela herself.

_**DAMN!**_

Her ego burned. She probably only imagined the snickers behind her back, but it still rankled her that she was probably being made the butt of jokes on either side of the fence. Hillshire wisely did not comment– but where her handler said nothing, he usually meant everything.

Speaking of the devil, he was supposed to be here already. _Trust an adult to be useless. Trust a man to be unreliable. And trust Hillshire to ruin the day,_ she sourly concluded

_Just this once, I wish he was useful._

Footsteps sounded behind her, heavy, swaggering, ominous. It was not Hillshire.

Triela spun around, her H&K P7M8 coming out of its shoulder holster inside her coat. Her surroundings exploded into purple blades. She screamed.

Jeremy Colt grinned. "Boo."

**  
_to be continued_**


	34. Machina Eden 03: Warriors

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**  
Machina Eden Arc**

**Episode Three**

**  
Warriors**

**  
**Hillshire sighed to himself. He was running (walking, actually, but that's the English language for you) very late. Triela would most assuredly chew him out despite the peace offering of expensive chocolate he carefully held to his broad chest.

_That girl is more demanding than a wife…_

He grimaced. The last thing he needed was more misunderstandings of **that** sort. Priscilla and Elenora's teasing were bad enough. And enough with all the stupid little adjectives and metaphors he thought up to describe their relationship. _Naked? My God, for a word like that to come out of an English teacher's head about his thirteen-year-old student's bare neck is to court fifty years in prison…_

The street ahead leading to Planetarian Park was pitch-black. That struck him as unnatural. Machina Eden was one of those cities that not only never really slept, but also kept the lights on all night long. They could afford to. Gigantic self-sustaining Palladium Reactors supplied the city with ten times the power it would ever need in a hundred years.

Hillshire caught whiffs of organic-laden soil and a familiar, sweetly sickening smell. He knew that last from the time he still went by the name of Victor Hartmann. When he first met and rescued the then-nameless Triela from the snuff factory that had nearly claimed her as a victim.

It was blood.

Triela had blood on her back in those times, too. Those bastards had all but killed her.

_Triela…_

Hillshire grimly drew his pistol and ran like Death was on his tail.

**  
**Robo Ky found Meka Hisui on the rooftop of Ciel's Reploid lab/home. The PWAB war machine leaned upon the railing to stare at the sparkling expanse of Machina Eden as if searching for some subliminal answer to a dilemma.

"Good evening, Meka Hisui-san. How are you?"

She didn't bother whirling around in surprise. The suppressor inside her head kept her from entertaining even the slightest of violent thoughts against her target. Instead her upgraded electronic brain chose to prevaricate, a mental form of resistance since her physical weapons were inaccessible, by saying: "I am, as the humans are wont to say, fine."

"That is good to hear." He walked over to her side and mimicked her position.

They waited like that for what seemed forever. He waited for her to talk. She wished him to go away and leave her alone– or die.

"I had a dream." Swiftly she related the story of the bright light she saw in her mind before waking up again.

**  
**_Why? Why can't I reach it?_

_Because you are not really trying. You have to really want it to get it._

_I want it._

_Then reach for it now._

**  
**"I was in your dream?" Robo Ky sounded surprised.

"Yes. I do not know what it means or how it came about. I am a robot. Robots cannot dream."

"I agree. I myself have never experienced a dream. You are perhaps the first robot I know of who has experienced dreaming."

"Are you making fun of me?" Meka Hisui hotly demanded, glaring at her nemesis.

"No. I was merely stating a fact."

He was smiling at her. She detected her facial armor's temperature rising and felt that she shouldn't allow him to see she was– _embarrassed?_

"Waiieee!" Sumomo danced upon Robo Ky's shoulder as she tapped her tambourine. "Meka Hisui-chan is blushing!"

Said robot clutched at her face guiltily, trying to obscure the fact that somehow her cheeks were hot and red, indeed.

_**Blushing? Me?**_

_What is happening to me? What did they do to me? I didn't detect anything else they added to me aside from the suppressor and the memory card!_

And all this while, Robo Ky smiled at her.

Meka Hisui looked away. "I am your enemy," she muttered, using her primary programming as a talisman against the **humanity** encroaching upon her. "I wish to destroy you."

_But even enemies can become friends, right? _asked the sad-faced Henrietta she mentally conjured before herself without even realizing it. The same question Robo Ky asked now.

"Even enemies may come to understand each other and perhaps find common ground between them, can they not?"

"Never," she swore, to him and to herself.

"If you say so."

Trying to find something to focus on aside from the teasing and reflection, Meka Hisui noticed something. "Why is that portion dark?"

She pointed. Robo Ky's gaze followed her outstretched arm. A patch of Machina Eden was pitch dark.

"I don't know," Robo Ky admitted. _Isn't that where Planetarian Park is?_

Beneath them, Klaxons screamed. The three intelligent machines jerked in surprise. Robo Ky and Meka Hisui scanned for threats.

_So the suppressor does not prevent me from defending myself?_ Complexity upon complexity piled upon Meka Hisui's brain. _Just what does **he** want with me?_

She shook her head clear of extraneous thoughts and focused on the immediate danger.

"Ciel-san?" Robo Ky talked into his inbuilt communicator. "What is happening?"

"**Robo Ky-san! We're under attack!"**

**  
**Planetarian Park was a war zone. A violent force had bulldozed every tree, bench and rock in the place before chopping them up or grinding them into dust. Nothing remained standing and intact.

Hillshire swept through the area with cautious haste. The longer he delayed, the longer Triela fought alone. Pinocchio taught him the hard way that the junior agents weren't invincible. He couldn't bear thinking about the monster that had wrecked the park attacking his ward.

Something tangled around his ankle. Startled, Hillshire spun as he tripped, bringing his pistol to bear on the green orbs glowing at him out of the darkness.

"Mister Customer? I'm sorry for frightening you."

Reverie Planetarian was a pathetic sight. The android park attendant was missing most of her lower body. Wires, a hodgepodge of mechanical innards and a metal spine spilled out of the gaping hole where her waist had once been. Despite this and her worried tone, she looked to be mostly operational.

"Reverie!" Both relieved and horrified, Hillshire put away his gun. "What happened to you?"

"I was going about the Park on my customary night schedule when I found a man attacking a young female customer. He spotted me and attacked me. I feigned a shut down and waited until he left before sounding the alarm."

"Are you all right?"

"My lower body has been forcibly separated from my upper body. I have sustained varying levels of damage to 60 percent of my internal systems. However, my critical systems are untouched and functioning satisfactorily. I therefore assume that I am, as you want to know, all right," she finished with a wan smile. "So please do not worry for me, Mister Customer, as I am all right."

Hillshire shook his head. He would never really understand androids. Then he remembered the girl Reverie mentioned. "Triela? Where's Triela?"

"There." Reverie gestured. "Please help her. I fear she is dying."

A girl-sized form darker than the night sprawled across one angry crisscross of upturned black earth. She lay limp and unmoving.

"Triela!"

Hillshire rushed to his ward's side._ Oh, my God,_ he found himself pleading,_ no, not this, not this, please not this…_

Here was the gory horror he didn't want to find. Blood covered her from head to toe. The girl had been practically torn apart, slashed and gouged as if by wild beasts.

"I have called a medical evacuation team," Reverie told him from where she lay. "It will arrive in five minutes."

_For all it is worth–_ He took her wrist and found a weak pulse. "Hang on!" Hillshire knew better than to move her in such an injured state. Plus a mechanical body weighed far more than he could lift. "I'll get you to the hospital!"

"Victor…"

Hillshire caught his breath. She had never called him that before. Never knew who he really was. To Triela he was always the grumpy stick in the mud and never the man who risked career, life and lover to save her– until now.

"Is that you?" she whimpered past blood and pain. "Victor?"

He gripped her hand tight and answered "Yes. It's me."

"Hillshire? You're… Victor?"

"Yes."

"How... disappointing." She coughed. "You… you're useless… you know that? And… you're late."

"I am. I'm sorry."

"To hear you say that… apologizing…" She actually smiled. Hillshire thought she looked beautiful despite her pain and his own surprise at the way he regarded her now. "It makes me feel… happy…"

Triela's eyes closed. Her head lolled against his chest.

Hillshire roared in anger at the now-burning night sky.

_Who's the bastard who did this?_

**  
**A paper-thin, razor-sharp blade of purple psychic energy gutted the dumpy "car-on-legs-with-gun-pod-arms" robot's torso. A second blade decapitated it. The robot sparked as it toppled. **"–sisting arrest–"**

Jeremy Colt grunted. That left three more of the hulking battle robots leveling gun pod arms at his back. _Peachy._

"… **two… one… zero."**

20mm automatic cannons roared. Armor piercing rounds flattened upon a paper-thin, near-indestructible barrier of pure psychic force suddenly between them and their target. Colt twisted around. The half dozen purple tendrils on his back bypassed his shield to impale titanium armor that was thinner than it looked.

All three robots exploded in a satisfactorily Jerry Bruckenheimer manner.

Colt smirked. ED-209 police robots were surprisingly easy to kill despite their formidable appearance. They were also unbelievably stupid. He'd blithely run into one who was, of all things, directing sparse night traffic (and botching the simple task badly). It declared him a jaywalker in violation of curfew, armed its auto cannons and gave him "Twenty seconds to comply."

He spiked it through the head before it got to "Three."

More had appeared. He'd just finished dealing with those. _Sheo Darren may be a robot nut, but he hasn't thought to upgrade **these** guys._

Colt was feeling great. Not just because he was kicking ass and taking names– though that, too, was a good feeling. But for the first time since being augmented by neo-Nazi scientists into a living psycho-weapon, he fought without the acute migraines that came with using his psychokinetic powers.

Surprisingly, the process that "cured" him hadn't hurt at all– though it did involve red-hot three-inch long needles inserted into various spots over his scalp, temples and neck.

**  
**_"I've sealed certain nerve links in your head. You won't feel the pain from using your psychic powers for a while. That should allow you to concentrate easier while fighting enemies. Remember, though, that it's temporary and won't stop damage. You just won't feel it. So still be careful."_

**  
**_Thanks, Chloe. I owe you big._

"Halt! Please."

Hiding behind a massive shield and a beam rifle was a cute redhead Reploid SDDF Peacekeeper in red-blue-white "Gundam Girl" body armor. Behind **her** was a squad of free-willed T-850 Terminator cyborgs carrying plasma rifles plus a robot that looked to be a Dalek from _Doctor Who_ complete with "sink plunger" disintegrator cannon. Backing **them** up was a blue Tachikoma walking crab robot the size of a sedan car, a machine gun on its right arm and a six-barrel mini gun in its snout. All their weapons were aimed at Colt.

"Throw down your weapons and surrender at once!" the Reploid officer commanded from behind her shield and gun. "Please," she added politely.

"Or be terminated," one of the Arnie clones beside her droned in an appropriate Austrian accent.

"EX-TER-MIN-ATE!" That was the Dalek, whom the Gundam Girl Reploid scolded with regards to civility.

Colt grimaced. _Now get that thing at the SDDF base done and get your ass here to help me!_

**  
**Years of watching various Gundams get stolen from Earth Federation bases had taught Sheo Darren to be paranoid about base security. The Author employed every security measure in the book and invented some of his own to protect vital areas of _The World Within And Without_ such as Machina Eden. Sheo also thought to preclude the possibility of treachery by making sure that only his trusted friends and family could access the bases' critical areas.

He never even considered that one of his extended family would actually betray him.

Chloe swiped her ID card– the one given to her by Yuumura Kirika when she came to live at the Death Star– into the appropriate slot. The armored blast doors slid open. **"Welcome, Chloe,"** Central greeted.

"Thank you."

In ten minutes she found a computer terminal. Chloe wasn't a tech whiz, so she relied on whispered instructions over her shoulder on how to access the user-friendly Lindows OS.

Searching directly for their target wouldn't do. Such sensitive information would be heavily protected and would reveal her as a traitor. Instead she was told to look for a schedule of meals delivered when and where.

There. Rooms 353 and 257 had only begun receiving food in the past two weeks. Both rooms were personnel quarters– likely to have been converted into temporary holding cells for an eleven-year-old Italian cyborg archer assassin.

"Go. She stood. Colt needed her.

"Thanks. And good hunting."

"You, too."

The ECS-protected Rolito moved away. Giuseppe followed as Chloe broke into a run in the opposite direction.

**  
**_Hang on a little longer, Elena-tan. The cavalry's arrived…_

_Elena!_

**  
**_Jeremy! I'm coming!_

**  
**_Hardest five minute fight of my life,_ Colt thought, dusting his hands together theatrically.

The only surviving SDDF operative was the Reploid girl. He cut up her shield and smashed all her armor before he crippled her arms and then beat her half-senseless. She was the most difficult to beat because she kept dodging courtesy her Bio Sensor.

She was also the luckiest. Everyone else in her response team had been destroyed, their remains broken and strewn all across the road.

Colt? He had broken a sweat.

He watched the girl for any sneak attacks. Instead she wept over her teammates. It was more than enough to disgust the assassin.

"Please." Aside, he realized he was starting to talk like Chloe. He shook the disturbing thought off and casually added, "They were just robots."

"They're not **just** robots!" the Reploid hotly countered. "We're people! Each one of us is a person!"

"You wish." _Like anyone would want to be that maniac,_ Colt sourly thought.

**  
**Person With Many Aliases flew through the air. "HOTARUBIIII!!!"

POW.

"Ouch."

**  
**The air around him crackled with electricity. Colt whirled.

"**SEIKISHIDAN OUGI!"**

Without really thinking of it (and damn but he **loved** the feeling of being able to just will his power like an Author instead of having it split his brain in half whenever he tried using it), Colt stopped the gigantic charged lightning bolt cold with a flash of purple energy. "Well, now," he drawled, ignoring the now-harmless Reploid, "I didn't expect to see **you** here."

"Jeremy Colt." Robo Ky leveled his sakabato at the offender's face. An equally disapproving Sumomo clung to his left shoulder to glare at Colt. "You have attacked the peaceful denizens of Machina Eden, damaged public and private property without reason, resisted officers of the law and killed mechanized citizens. Cease this violence and submit to my authority, and I will promise you a fair hearing at your trial. Resist and I will be compelled to use violent force against you."

"You done reading me my Miranda Rights? You know my answer is same as Sol's. Fuck you." Colt added both middle fingers for good measure. The assassin hated law enforcers for an obvious reason. This metal-skinned guy's self-righteousness also reminded him of Ky Kiske– who had ended up bagging Dizzy, a fact which further grated on him.

Robo Ky tipped his head. "Officer. Sumomo. Go somewhere safe."

"Okay, Robo Ky!" The tiny pocket Persocon jumped off his shoulder and ran off into the dark. The Reploid saluted, then said "Good luck, sir!" before retreating as well.

"So," Colt generated purple blades in his hands; just for kicks, he imaged their shapes to resemble Kansho and Byakuya, the Servant Archer's paired Chinese swords. "Bring it."

**  
**Though Room 353 didn't look to have guards or security cameras, Giuseppe kept his guard up as he touched the door control panel. _Not even coded,_ he thought suspiciously as he drew a throwing knife. He used the blade as a mirror of sorts, keeping himself out of sight and ready to throw his impromptu periscope at any threat.

There were no closets or other furniture aside from the bed. The bathroom door was closed. A small form huddled on the bed.

_Elena…_

Following his training, he checked the bathroom first and found no one. There were no other places where a person could hide.

Sighing in relief, he returned his attention to the bed. Elena hadn't stirred at all. He grasped and shook what he assumed to be his sister's shoulder beneath the blanket. "Hey, Elena. It's me. Giuseppe."

Her reaction was to crunch her small body into an even tighter fetal crouch. Despite himself, Giuseppe grinned. _Sister's such a scaredy cat at times. They must have given her a scary time. Well, she's safe now._

He took hold of the blanket and pulled it off without warning. "Surprise!"

Giuseppe froze.

The girl beneath the blanket wasn't Elena.

**  
**Claes aimed her MP-7 SMG at Giuseppe's shock-filled face. At this range, she couldn't miss and her target wouldn't survive. Her smile was grim. Her eyeglasses gleamed.

"Hello, Giuseppe. Surprise, indeed."

**  
**Rolito had shut his ECS down a long time ago. That was because he found, of all things, a janitor's closet with all the paraphernalia associated with the job: broom, mop, long-handled brush and, best of all, a dusty spare coverall.

_A janitor's closet in this most high tech of bases and cities? Ironies abound._

He made sure the cap rode tight upon his head before putting on his Mission Impossible dark shades. No special features were built into the last item. They just made him look anonymously cool.

His disguise complete, Rolito stepped out of the closet– and promptly bumped into someone.

"Ah!"

"I'm sorry…"

Rolito gaped.

Chise stared back.

**  
**_The man in black stumbled past dead bodies and through the last set of blasted armored doors protecting the sanctum sanctorum of the JSSDF's Special Mission Program. The tip of his bloodstained katana dragged upon the floor. With effort he brought it up and sheathed it, all the while stagger-walking towards his final destination._

"_Move it, Rouge!" a harsh male voice snarled in his ear-mounted Codec. "We're getting swamped here!"_

Yes, dear,_ was the weary answering thought of the half-dead man who saw ghosts at every corner of his graying vision. Shades of all the people he killed, vengeful and grim. Takane-sensei sadly shaking her head at her star pupil's tragic transformation, turning her back on the horror that he had become. That bastard cannibal Satan, Wallez, whom he rendered dinner for the crows– but not before costing him everyone he loved in the Pyrrhic aftermath, his reward for saving the world._

_Masakari._

_Jess._

"Kuya."

_He snapped awake and found himself in the research lab he and his allies had fought and bled and died to get at. And there she was before him. Saishu Heiki Kanojo, Saikano, She, The Ultimate Weapon, Kali the Goddess of Death, Shiva the Destroyer, Jormugandr the Serpent, Ragnarok and Megiddo combined, the bringer of pinpoint nuclear death to mankind, still as death within her regeneration chamber._

_She was a girl barely ten years old. About as old as his sister was before Jess died. She was asleep, inactive._

We made it. _He couldn't believe it._ We made it before they finished with her.

_It was his last duty for humankind. To save billions of lives, one girl must die. To save the innocent, he had to commit an unforgivable mortal sin and damn himself throughout eternity._

The killing never stops. The pain never goes away.

_The bloodied assassin fumbled in his coat for his last stiletto. He shambled over to the regen chamber and entered a memorized sequence provided by a not-quite-dead goddess girl who lived in the electronic world of The Wired. The glass lid slid open._

_She was nude. A part of him quailed to look at a naked girl. Another part screamed at him not to go on with his terrible task. He had thought both parts long dead and forgotten. Maybe it meant he was still human. Maybe he could still be saved._

_He held the dagger over her heart, prepared to drive it into her heart._

_The girl opened her eyes and looked at him._

**  
**The two killers' gazes held for a long time.

"I'm sorry," Rolito murmured softly. "For everything. For everyone."

He turned around and walked away.

**  
"Doryusen! Kai!"**

Lightning accompanied the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu's vacuum ground slash variation. It tore up the ground like a shark's fin sliced through water and came straight at Colt.

"I saw the anime!" The psychic lashed out with a pair of elastic whip-like energy projections to create a counter shockwave. The two vacuum attacks canceled out each other explosively. A cloud of rock and dust obscured the dueling field. "That all you can do?" Colt challenged aloud.

Robo Ky burst from that blinding cloud in a run. Sakabato sheathed again, hand on the hilt, ready to launch another batto-jutsu strike once he closed the distance. Purples blades ripped out of the concrete, a killing gauntlet that stabbed and shredded anything caught within. He dodged every single one of them, mechanical musculature and the Supersonic Sword Style combining to make him untouchable.

Glimpsing Colt ahead, Robo Ky lashed out with Stun Strike, a self-developed attack that gave a batto-jutsu strike the properties of Ky's Stun Edge, the projectile a slashing arc of electric energy instead of the usual thunder spearhead, faster and stronger than the Stun Edge.

His opponent flung himself into the air. The purple tendrils on Colt's back propelled him powerfully fifty feet above Robo Ky's head, then formed into bird-like wings. The flying assassin then sprouted psychic monofilament wire from his fingers and began slicing away at Robo Ky. The knight parried with his now-lightning-reinforced sakabato before jumping upwards, boosters flaring.

"**Kuzu Ryusen!"**

All nine strikes of the Nine Headed Dragon attack were stopped cold. Colt's wings had folded around him rather like a ball. It gave him complete protection against any attack from any angle. Of course, that meant he couldn't fly anymore and so dropped like a rock– but not before a storm of blades erupted from his shield's quiescent surface.

Fired blindly, the purple barrier blocking his sight, the laws of probability and physics still ensured that some of the desperation attack's shots would hit. And many did.

Paper-thin razors and stabbing edges slashed through the proud white-blue Seikishidan uniform. Reinforced armor, an upgrade Ciel recently installed, somehow held throughout that terrific barrage but screamed beneath the pressure.

Robo Ky fell back. His boosters kept him in the air. The tattered shreds of his uniform fluttered about him. Scratches and gouges marked his armor.

Twenty feet ahead, Colt had stopped dropping, his right wing unfolding to form a tripod that propped him above the ground. Its twin hovered about the man's left, ready to protect the assassin from any attack. He had not been injured in any way.

_He's too strong. Whatever's happened to him, he's become powerful beyond belief._ An intense sense, not of despair but of futility, seized Robo Ky.

His enemy's defense was perfect. Colt's offense was irresistible. He couldn't be beaten.

_No! I cannot lose! All those sentient robots that he destroyed… my friends and loved ones… Sumomo… They are all depending on me!_

Robo Ky touched down and returned his sakabato into its scabbard. _I have no choice. I have to use Amakake Ryu No Hirameki!_

Something whizzed past Colt's head. The assassin spun around but wasn't fast enough to track the object. Robo Ky, though, would know that yell of joy from anywhere.

"Aiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee! So fast!"

"Sumomo!"

The Persocon rode one of Ciel's new-generation flying Cyber Elves. "Robo Ky! Don't lose hope! Let's form Super Robo Ky and beat him together!"

_Of course!_ He realized anew a familiar truth._ My strength is in my friends!_

"Understood." He let go of his sword. "Prepare for union!"

"Roger! Get–" Her cheerful acknowledgement was cut off by an explosion– and her scream.

"SUMOMO!" Robo Ky watched in horror as his friend ignominiously plummeted into the dark forest, smoke and fire trailing.

"Fuck," Colt muttered, realizing that the Lone Wolf Syndrome was about to hit full force.

**  
**Lone Wolf ZERO sneezed.

"Bless you," chimed Hibiki, Mriya (who was visiting), Iliya, Saber, Sion and Lia, each girl appending their blessing with their personal name for the Author.

"Uh, thanks, girls. Someone must be talking about me."

**  
**Something small and fast smashed into Robo Ky's torso– and burst into violent flame. The blast hurled the mechanical knight backwards.

Chloe pulled out another anti-armor dart. Aerodynamic weapons courtesy Amalgam's Weapons R&D Department, their tips contained shaped charges of powerful explosives that could penetrate light armor. They could be thrown or used as stabbing weapons.

"_These are Giuseppe's spares,"_ Rolito had offhandedly remarked earlier while giving Chloe half a dozen darts. _"I thought you might want something that can kill robots."_

That they were meant to be used by a mechanical body explained why they were so heavy for throwing weapons. Chloe had trouble hefting them despite her considerable strength. Still, she got the hang of them quickly enough to hit the fast-moving Sumomo on her first try.

Robo Ky got back on his feet. His anger at Sumomo's fall was tempered by shock at seeing True Noir alongside 666 Lives. "Miss Chloe?"

She didn't pay him any attention because Colt was hogging all of it. "Damn it, woman," snarled the annoyed hit man from thirty feet above. "What did I tell you earlier? You **never** clout the girlfriend in this World!"

"Please." Chloe was unruffled by all the hot wind and spit sent her way. "Would you rather fight a powerful giant robot than an angst-ridden fiancé?"

"I'm not Solid Snake! I'd take giant robots over angry boyfriends any day! Hell hath no fury over a guy whose girlfriend you just banged!"

"That's 'Over a woman scorned', not your crudely appended aphorism."

"Oh, so now we're dragging the English language into this, eh?"

"Canadian barbarian," she sniffed in disdain.

"Finicky Frog!"

Despite himself, Robo Ky sweat-dropped. _They're like a married couple…_

Both assassins turned on him as if they read his mind.

"You're fucking dead," Colt madly grinned.

**  
**Armored hands gently took Sumomo and carried her away.

"Please… go back… help Robo… Ky… Please…"

The longest time passed before she answered.

**  
**"Drop your weapons. Now."

Suppressing his instinctive urge to attack or dodge, Giuseppe did as told. His kukri landed at the far end of the room– _sensei is going to kill me for wasting **yet another** good sword_– followed by his throwing daggers. The MP-7's muzzle followed his every motion all the while.

"Don't forget the dagger behind your neck," Claes reminded him with a faintly menacing smile. "We can't have mistakes now, can we?"

He hissed but obediently chucked that weapon as well. _She's good._

"Put your hands behind your head." He did that, too. "Now turn around."

"Is this where you kill me?" the boy challenged. "Why don't you just finished your job and shoot me now?"

"You're in no position to argue. Giuseppe," she added in a manner he would have thought cute had she not been aiming a gun at his face.

He was tempted to call her something that Elena would be horrified to hear. Or attack her. His conditioning urged him to strike without consideration for himself. He was going to die, anyway. Death was better than being the target of teasing, of dancing to this girl's tune.

**  
**_"If an animal's leg gets trapped, it will gnaw that leg off in order to escape. But a human being would feign death or helplessness and wait in order to get at the trapper."_

_Rolito looked over his shoulder at his attentive students. He grinned._

"_Then hit them when they least expect it."_

**  
**Giuseppe slowly pivoted on his heels and faced the door.

"You can come in now," Claes called out.

The door opened. Giuseppe gaped.

Elena was there… with Henrietta.

"Surprise," Claes softly intoned.

**  
**Robo Ky reeled. His foes' double-team was tremendously effective. He could barely handle the unbelievably powerful Colt alone. Chloe added a further danger by sniping at him when he least expected, the assassin melding in and out of the darkness like a ghost. He was being worn down, no time at all to prepare a Hirameki, forced to deal with every distraction and attack thrown his way.

Sensing the end, Colt went all out. A purple hurricane of psychic edges shattered the landscape. Chloe switched to her conventional daggers to conserve the anti-armor darts and worry her target as to how many more of the explosive weapons she retained (two at the last count).

Finally, Robo Ky fell on one knee. He was too damaged to recover.

"Jeez, and here I was worrying that you'd be trouble after all that shit you gave the Kaiser guy." Colt shrugged. "Now all I have to worry about is that psycho Japanese nuke launcher chick and getting backstabbed by my business associate."

"I… will not… let you…" Robo Ky gathered all his remaining strength and yelled "WIN!"

An indifferent hand rose. "Then: disappear," Colt ordered, as villainous as he could make himself sound.

**  
**Hidden in the forest, Chloe rolled her eyes at hearing the oft-abused villain quote. "Idiot."

**  
**In his Tower, Geese Howard smirked. "Waste of time," he growled in his 'Geese English' accent.

"Outousama, please," Kawana Misaki primly interjected.

**  
**Somewhere very far away, fiddling with Negi Springfield's intelligent device Arc Light, Four Murasame Darren blinks. "Wow! Someone quoted! I'm so happy, I can glomp someone!"

That, she did with Negi.

**  
**_I'm sorry, Master Seijuro, Ciel-san, Sumomo. I've failed._

**  
"Rocket Punch."**

Twin rocket-propelled fists of steel hurtled at Colt. The Fake Angel deflected them aside with a timely blade but got knocked back by the impact. "What the fuck?"

The awesome BGM when Mazinkaiser first appears in the _Mazinkaiser_ OVA series begins playing.

Joints locked and sealed as mechanical fingers flexed into fists. Steam hissed from cooling vents. Red wire hair fluttered. Glowing amber eyes glowered at Colt and Chloe.

"What the fuck?" went Colt. "Hisui?"

"Meka Hisui!" To say Robo Ky was astonished was understating things. He was even more confused to see the small robot hovering behind Meka Hisui. _One of Ciel-san's Fusion Elf programs, a Nurse-type. What are they doing here?_

"You will not destroy Robo Ky." The robot maid kept her fists aimed at Colt, ready for another Rocket Punch salvo. Her face was decidedly neutral even counting her natural lack of expression. "I will not let you."

"How cliché," Colt muttered.

"Why are you helping me?" Robo Ky asked.

"Double cliché," was Colt's additional grumble.

"My mission is to destroy you," she stated. "I cannot fulfill my mission if someone else destroys you."

A knowing smile slowly crept across Robo Ky's face. _I see. Good enough for me_. "All right, Meka Hisui. And thank you."

"Understood. You are welcome."

The Fusion Elf accompanying Meka Hisui darted to Robo Ky's side and completely repaired the mechanical knight.

Colt grimaced. "Fuck."

Chloe materialized beside him. She hefted a broadsword that let out magical energy. "I'm with you, Jeremy."

"Always, Chloe."

_How can I lose with her by my side?_ both men thought of their respective partners.

**  
**Ciel watched the heated battle via long-range live-feed scanners. A worried Alouette clung to her side.

"Will Robo Ky-san and Meka Hisui-san be all right?"

"Believe, Alouette. Believe."

The girl nodded. "Croire," she murmured. _Believe._

**  
**Chise hugged herself. She knew that face: the man who spared her life so long ago.

_Why is he here?_

_He is the enemy._

_The enemy… the enemy is here._

"Chise?" Shuji fell back despite himself.

Silver light bathed his girlfriend. Her eyes were blank and emotionless. She was no longer his beloved but the weapon to end all weapons.

"I have to kill them before they kill me," Chise intoned.

**  
To Be Continued...**


	35. Machina Eden 04: Chise

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**  
Machina Eden Arc**

**Episode Four**

**  
Chise**

**  
**Mankind has always had stories of the end of the world. It is an expression of their innate penchant for self-destruction.

Ragnarok. Megiddo. Götterdämmerung. Apocalypse. Judgement Day.

There is always a central figure in these stories that brings about the end of the world.

Shiva the Destroyer. Jormugandr the Serpent. The White Rider of God.

She is those legends realized, all the mythical gods of war and death and destruction humanized. She is the sword of God come to cleanse the world with the fire that burns heaven and earth. She is Mankind's judge, jury and executioner.

Her verdict: guilty. Her lips wordlessly pronounce sentence: death.

Saishu Heiki Kanojo. Saikano. She, The Ultimate Weapon.

**  
**She descended from the sky, above the madness yet part and parcel of it, coming to partake and share of the cup of bitter wine that was Humankind's sorry lot. The bringer of doom, her wings silvery resplendent feathers of death blotting out the starlit sky, a strange humming sound announcing her arrival, she hovered over the embattled World, a second moon, closer and more luminous than Luna, the light at the end of the narrow tunnel.

Before her, all fall on their knees and faces, bowing, cowering, awed.

She murmurs a single word, one command.

"Die."

**  
**Earlier…

Mental energies focused into paper-thin cutting surfaces clashed with finely tempered steel strengthened by thunder magic. Colt and Robo Ky not quite broke apart, the Fake Angel extending his blades forward even as the distance between him and his target opened up, ranged strikes pressing his attack to the utmost.

The mechanical knight parried or dodged every single strike before hurtling forward at supersonic speed. Ryusosen Garami hammered at a single spot on Colt's shield. Even the resilient psychic energies composing the blade couldn't hold out against the powerful, concentrated, repeated blows of the Strangling Dragon's Nest Strike. Breaking through, Robo Ky smoothly shifted from Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu to Musou Maden Ryu and launched a Distance Slash that Colt barely stopped.

Chloe and Meka Hisui dueled nearby. True Noir accelerated into that superhuman blur she'd displayed at The Manor years ago, sidestepping a pair of missiles, timely ducking twin red eye beams. Durandal, the mighty weapon of the legendary French paladin Roland, a blade that could carve through mountains, found the range– and clove through air.

Twenty feet overhead, the jumping Meka Hisui unloaded a deluge of aerial death. Crossbow rail gun barked six times, their projectiles circling Chloe, seeking openings in her defense. A massive blast of napalm fire followed them down.

Without even glancing over his shoulder despite being heavily pressed by Robo Ky, Colt imaged one of his psychic blades to wrap around Chloe. Flames and steel bolts harmlessly washed past his protection. Simultaneously, Chloe's left arm whipped out her last high-explosive anti-armor dagger past the shield and at Robo Ky, forcing the latter to break off his attacks on her partner.

Colt and Chloe's backs met, covering each other's six position, their moves synchronized.

"Just like old times," the psychic drawled conversationally, remembering a library in France once upon a time ago and the bloody massacre they'd inflicted.

"Indeed." They watched Meka Hisui land beside Robo Ky. "Tag?"

"Go."

They switched opponents, Chloe engaging Robo Ky while Colt gave Meka Hisui a taste of her own long-range medicine. Magically-enhanced metal rang upon armored alloys and Shin-Uchi sakabato. Yellow-orange explosions sprinkled the already-charred urban landscape.

The reluctant Robo Ky crossed blades with Chloe. "Miss Chloe! Why are you doing this?"

"If you can ask a question like that, in the middle of a fight–" her leg lashed out into Robo Ky's torso; the blow actually staggered the knight. "I'm not pressing you hard enough!"

"**_Colt, Chloe,"_** Rolito advised over their Codecs, **_"I've got our exit ticket punched. ETA five."_**

"'Bout fucking time, Rouge," Colt groused as he ducked Meka Hisui's jet plane Ultimate. His retaliatory spikes missed. "And here I thought you already bugged out."

"**_I don't leave my people behind."_** The man paused as if to say something else. **_"Hang on a little longer. Over and out."_**

The sound washed over the combatants, a sustained electronic hum rather like something from a techno-pop instrumental beat, stopping the battle as effectively as a cease fire, all of them looking up.

Robo Ky recognized it all too well, having witnessed the singer of that mind-numbing music in battle once, never able to forget the sight of an army dying in brilliant light.

"Chise…"

Pale luminescence bathed Machina Eden. Its source, a small sun of pink-white, touched down toe first, an angel primly alighting upon the soiled Earth. The Ultimate Weapon regarded the stopped combatants with impersonal distance and godly boredom. Battle wings fluttered once.

"Die," Chise emotionlessly commanded.

**  
**"I don't know what to say," the stunned Giuseppe finally managed, unable to believe that the two girls he loved stood together before him.

"How about, 'Hello, 'Etta. Hello, Elena.'?" suggested Claes as the delighted Elena tackled her brother.

"Big brother! You came for me!"

"Of course I did." Giuseppe happily returned her hug. "I promised I'd rescue you, didn't I?" He looked over Elena's head to see Henrietta shyly smiling at him. He smiled back. "Hey. Henrietta."

"Giuseppe."

Cybernetic arms tightened around Giuseppe's reinforced rib cage possessively, causing the boy to yelp. Still possessively hugging her brother, Elena wriggled about to glare at Henrietta. 'Etta blushed but contested the hostile gaze, clearly not wanting to lose to the younger girl in terms of expressing affection for Giuseppe.

_Devil and the deep blue sea? Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? Budding cat– or is it kitten?– fight that would put those risqué novels I read to shame or knock even me down with laughter?_ Whatever the appropriate metaphor (and she was sure Hillshire could think one up on the fly), Claes found the idea of two adolescent cyborg girls fighting over a boy amusing.

"What's this supposed to mean, anyway?" Giuseppe was looking for a way to avert the coming conflict of cuteness and so focused on Claes. "Aren't we supposed to be enemies?"

"Can't enemies feel for each other when they can?" The dark-haired girl's smirk grew bigger even as Giuseppe joined Henrietta's blush party.

"You **told** her **that**?" the Amalgam hit-kid exclaimed at his Section Two counterpart.

"I'm sorry! She bullied me into doing so!"

"**Bullied** you?How can she bully you? You're **both** cyborgs! You beat **me** to within an inch of my life when we first met!"

The horrified Elena gaped. "She **did**?"

"Well… um… ah… I' sorry! Claes is just evil! Evilevilevil!"

"But I must say, 'Etta," the 'evil' girl appended, "If your facial expression back then when you first met matched your usual 'kicked puppy guilt trip' look, I can understand why he gave into your charms."

"Don't call me that! Only Miss Mi– I mean, only Mireille can call me that!"

Giuseppe buried his face into his free palm exactly like he'd seen a frustrated Rolito do. Henrietta was red as one of Claes' garden-fresh tomatoes. Elena was similarly close to dying of embarrassment.

"Sensei was right," Giuseppe groaned, "Girls are from Venus…"

"Claes! Please stop making fun of us! You're even worse than Triela!"

"All right, I'll stop."

"No, seriously," tiredly continued Giuseppe, not exactly up to another round of teasing from people he was supposed to kill. "Why this? You could have killed me easily earlier."

"I asked Claes." Henrietta bravely accepted the boy's astonishment. "I thought that if I could talk to you, maybe we can persuade you to stay here."

"What?"

"You'll be safe here! We can deactivate the bombs inside you!" That revelation got Giuseppe's attention. Rolito never said anything about bombs in his body or Elena's. "Here, you wouldn't have to fight! You can live normal lives and be happy! No more killing and fighting…"

Henrietta turned all forlorn and helpless. "And… I want to be with you… I really do…"

The startled Elena stared before being further jolted by "Me, too, Henrietta." Her brother felt limp in her arms.

"But I can't stay here," Giuseppe murmured. "We can't. We have to return to Amalgam."

"Why?"

"It's your handler." Claes pushed her glasses up her nose. "Isn't it?"

"Yes. We can't leave Sensei. He's sacrificed a lot for us. He'll be killed if we don't go back with him."

"He can stay, too," Henrietta pleaded. "We can protect him!"

"Sensei wouldn't want to live here. He says being a good guy, a hero, gets you nothing in the end, and that being a civilian only gets you caught in the middle of the war."

"He's a fool, then." The criticism received flak from Elena and– surprisingly– Henrietta, the last always protective of her own handler. The bespectacled girl did not relent. "Either that or a coward," Claes continued.

"Maybe he's both," Giuseppe agreed. "Maybe he's just a human being who wants to live a little longer."

"Maybe…"

"I understand." Henrietta's smile was forced and sad. "But this means we might have to–"

"I'll never fight you, Henrietta," Giuseppe promised. "I don't want to hurt you. I care for you too much."

"I don't, either. And I won't."

"Me, too," Elena chimed in, then quickly added "But only because Big Brother will be sad if you get hurt" to deflect any allegations that she liked her rival.

"Thank you, Elena," both Giuseppe and Henrietta murmured.

"Then go," Claes gestured with her MP-7, "Before I change my mind."

"You're Claes, right?" Giuseppe asked.

"Yes. Why?"

He smiled. "It's too bad we couldn't finish our fight and see who's really better."

She returned the smile despite herself. "Don't tempt me."

"I'll wait for you, Giuseppe," Henrietta bid. "I'll wait."

"Me, too, Henrietta."

**  
**"Die," Chise commanded. Colt grimaced.

_Great, yet another cute weapon of mass destruction. Sheo Darren really is a fucked up lolicon/siscon._

He easily felt the lethality copiously bleeding off the girl in a similar manner to her surrounding halo of light. _I'm gonna have to be careful around her._

The sound of a reverse-edged sakabato katana half-buried itself into the ground got him to turn and look.

Robo Ky stepped back from his abandoned weapon. "If you value your lives," the mechanical knight stated, "You will drop all your weapons and deactivate your powers and combat systems."

_You're kidding,_ Colt thought.

Meka Hisui was the first to comply. She assumed the traditional Japanese woman's "kneeling" position and waited. Robo Ky was surprised– and pleased.

Following her opponents' examples, Chloe reverently lay Durandal upon the ground. She then discarded her throwing daggers and fell on one knee, looking for the world like she was genuflecting. "Jeremy," she softly urged.

"No."

Colt did not move one inch from where he stood. "I'm not going to stand here and let this girl kill me– if she can." His psychic powers flared anew. "I'd rather go down fighting."

"Don't attack her!" The alarmed Robo Ky took a step towards him. "She won't engage until you attack her!"

"All the better to hit her when she's open, dear," the assassin sarcastically mouthed. _If this kid lets me get the first shot in– make it count!_

A single thought hurled a hundred psychic projectiles. A second fused them into one gigantic serpentine spear. The massive psychic battering ram smashed into Chise, carried her through several buildings and slammed her into the ground.

_Didn't even try to dodge– who the fuck does she think she is? God?_ Colt tore apart the area where the humanoid weapon had landed with psychic blades. _Sol ought to be around here to see this…_

**  
**Sol Badguy sneezed.

"Bless you, Sol-kun…"

"Frickin' Lone Wolf Effect…"

**  
**Lone Wolf ZERO sneezed.

"Bless you, Lone Wolf!!!"

"Guys, please stop mentioning my name like that…"

**  
**A tremendous white pillar erupted skywards a kilometer ahead. The impossibly powerful blast measured Three on the Richter Scale. It fragmented Colt's psychic blades as if they were made of paper.

Dark shapes lifted from the ground. Chise's wings were black and many times bigger and still growing at an alarming rate. They took over the night, tips arching downwards for Machina Eden like an eagle's wings as the hunting raptor stooped for the kill. Their breadth and length lifted a glowing orb that was their source free of the rubble that constrained her.

Chise was completely unharmed.

_Oh, fuck._

**  
**Her original form could have been killed by such a powerful strike. But the SDDF upgraded her a year ago to give her an anti-space ship capacity. She received far superior armor and shielding, vastly enhanced targeting systems and an improved Amaterasu plasma cannon. So great were the changes rendered to her fighting capabilities, she was reclassified from a humanoid weapon to an ultra-compact humanoid battleship.

Chise imaged her wings to grow until they covered the sky above. She primly floated free of the shattered city block and looked down on all.

**  
**_Fucking Sheo Darren Effect overpowers the girls of this Dimension._ Colt gritted his teeth. _Screw this._ Blade after purple blade bounced off the airborne Chise's shields without effect. "Chloe! Get out! Rolito! Get Chloe and your people out of here **now**!"

"**_Understood. Wait one."_**

"No! Jeremy!" Chloe was suddenly desperate. "I'm staying here with you!"

"I said: **get out!**" He glared at her with every bit of hate he could summon. "Get out of my sight!"

_Besides, I can't die. You can. I don't know how to live with myself forever if you get killed on me…_

Colt roared. A purple spear sundered the artificial night. He aimed it at the girl's face, willed it to pierce through.

And then his whole world shattered as the terrifying pain he'd forgotten about came flooding back into his consciousness like a sledgehammer blow to the skull.

Chloe's "treatment" had reached its limit.

The purple spearhead fizzled a few inches from Chise's left eye.

Colt screamed as he buckled. The pain swamped his whole being. It crushed his consciousness, slammed him into the ground and left him there to writhe like a floundering fish. It took him as its slave and became his whole existence.

He did not feel the gentle hands that gripped him nor heard the fearful words that sought to calm him down. All he knew was pain and two words that summed it all.

_**It… hurts…**_

**  
**"Jeremy!"

Chloe held on to the convulsing Colt as she stabbed a hypodermic needle into his heart. The liquid painkiller would take a minute or so to work, but was far more effective than mere pills.

She hugged him to her bosom and wept. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry… I won't leave you. I won't. Never."

**  
"_Targets detected. IFF check. Visual confirmation of targets as hostile. Locked on to targets. Prepare to engage."_**

Right arm transformed into the massive, slab-sided Amaterasu Cannon. Anti-ship missiles slid into firing slots and armed. Targeting sensors sought out and found her targets. Her eyes narrowed.

_I must kill them before they kill me._

**  
**A thirty-foot shadow fell across the battlefield. Its multi-ton owner landed right in front of Chloe and Colt, an armored booth missing the assassins by scant feet, and stood its ground against the desolation angel hanging over Machina Eden like a guillotine blade about to fall.

Metal wire whisked in the madly-stirring air. The protector titan braced itself for an almighty effort. Red energy danced about it. It looked up to its enemy, its mono-eyed stare proudly defiant, heroic despite its construction and record.

"Arm Slave?" Chloe murmured before realizing who it was. "Rolito!"

**  
**The man in black poured all of his concentration upon the glowing girl bracketed by his forward view screen's targeting hacks. A smaller virtual window on the lower right of his main screen displayed a close-up shot of his target. _She's still cute despite being on the verge of nuking me and everyone else into oblivion…_

He wondered what the Special Mission Team had been thinking to make her into the Ultimate Weapon. What kind of people wanted such a monstrosity to happen? More so, what kind of God allowed it to happen?

He could have just recovered Giuseppe and Elena. The current battle occupied the SDDF's attentions. Perfect. Get in. Grab his kids. Get out. Get back to base. File report. Tuck Elena in bed. Take Ami to dinner. Get laid. Sleep.

Mission accomplished.

Colt and Chloe meant nothing to him. They were just the latest in a line of expendable "allies". They had their purposes. And once they served those purposes, they were good as done. He didn't need them anymore.

_NO._

_I never leave anyone behind._

_And Colt is a friend._

_This is my fault. I could have killed Chise back then. I could have ended things before they began._

_But I didn't. I ran away._

**  
_"Rouge to all units. Pull out. She's awake. The mission is scrubbed. Pull out."_**

"_**Understood…"**_

"_**Fuck, Rouge, we went through all that trouble, and your mark happened to be online already?"**_

"**_There's no helping it." _**No helping it at all._ **"Pull out, Crazy Horse. If she engages, she'll kill us all."**_

"_**Fucking roger, boy. We're outta here, Chloe…"**_

_His Codec went dead._

_He let out all his tired worries in a long sigh, gave his unmarked stiletto a rueful grin and dropped it, not needing it any more. Looking over his shoulder, he found the girl staring at him. He didn't bother staring back. He was done here._

I… am getting old…

_Rolito Miranda, once a swordsman named Elde Talonn, walked away into oblivion._

**  
**_I ran away from you once_. He closed his eyes, gathering the necessary concentration for a talent he thought he was done with using._ I won't do so again…_

**  
**Salvo after salvo of missiles launched from Chise's wings. Noxious smoke trails followed the killing weapons down to their target. Each tactical nuclear warhead could take out an old World War Two super battleship. All were aimed at a single Arm Slave.

In the precious heartbeat before they hit, Rolito's eyes snapped wide open. His pupils were blank, driven.

Concentrated gamma brainwave input into dedicated collectors kick-started the Venom's repulsive field generator into overdrive. The Lambda Driver responded magnificently, breaking previously-determined output limits by over 500, driven by superhuman concentration that was thought to be impossible to achieve without drugs or specialized training.

Rock and soil erupted upwards as a crimson force field surged into life around the Codarl M and the two assassins it protected.

Every single missile hit– and was stopped by the Venom's shield, crunched into scrap metal by raging energies before its proximity fuse could trigger, averting nuclear detonation.

The retreating, watching Robo Ky felt like cheering despite himself.

Unfazed, Chise switched weapons.

The Amaterasu Cannon that formed her right arm was a scaled-down version of the Hellbore plasma gun mounted by the SDDF's Bolo super tank. On activation it loaded a sliver of pressurized, cryogenically cooled hydrogen fuel into its firing chamber. There, intense radiation bombarded the sliver to strip its atoms of electrons, converting the hitherto solid fuel into plasma, superheated ionized gas. Magnetic accelerators then "propelled" the star-hot substance out the barrel and at its target at twenty percent the speed of light.

The super-accelerated plasma bolt could easily punch through most defensive shielding and armor. On impact, the plasma would rapidly convert any matter it engulfed into plasma as well, practically vaporizing anything it touched.

While far weaker than a full-sized Hellbore's output, the Amaterasu still rated at a hefty three **kilotons** per second. Enough to destroy almost anything it hit– and everything within a kilometer of the impact point.

The Amaterasu's plasma ball impacted the Venom's shield. Plasma explosively washed over the Lambda barrier. The white-hot cloud annihilated everything it touched, drained the force field far faster than it could replenish its strength, quickly penetrating–

**  
**Alarms blinked and wailed as the Codarl's cockpit quickly turned into a volcano. Electronics shorted out. Plastics and glass melted.

"**_Warning,"_** the cute female AI voice worried over the destruction, **_"Systems rapidly approaching critical. Fatal overheat in five seconds… four… three…"_**

All he could hear was pleasant laughter and the repeated, joyous calls for his name. All he could see through the dark eyes lost in battle trance was the girl he took as his own sister, the girl long dead but still alive in his mind and heart and soul, holding her arms out for him to take.

"_Kuya Rolito…"_

_Jess… Dearest Jessica..._

Then there was only silvery-white light.

**  
**Venom, Colt and Chloe vanished in a surprisingly quiet nuclear apocalypse over a kilometer across in diameter.

**  
**"SENSEI!" Giuseppe screamed as the titanic shockwave contemptuously flung him and Elena aside– along with the rest of the world.

**  
**The repaired Reverie sorrowfully watched the night sky burn white.

"It's happening again. The world is burning…"

**  
**Machina Eden stopped burning after three days. The apocalyptic final battle had razed many valuable laboratories and facilities loaded with flammables. Firefighting and damage control units still swarmed over the blasted areas for weeks after. That the rest of the city had received relatively little damage was both a testament to its overall durability and a poignant tribute to the unexplained heroism of a man who was supposed to be the enemy.

The Venom's shields had absorbed most of the plasma explosion's destructive energies, minimizing damage to the surroundings. Nothing of it– or of the two assassins it tried to protect– survived.

No humans had died in the battle, Machina Eden's human population being concentrated in the undamaged SDDF base. Losses for intelligent cybernetic life were moderate, the robot populace having mostly moved to shelters in time.

A single death is a tragedy. Four thousand robots destroyed, however intelligent they were, is a statistical footnote.

Yet the survivors rallied. They dug through the ruins to recover what they could, cleared away the wreck of their old lives and began building anew. In that way robots were better off than humans. Repairs came easily to them due their artificial nature.

And life went on.

**  
**Robo Ky and Meka Hisui spent a week looking for Colt and Chloe. They found no trace of the two assassins. Their bodies had probably been vaporized by the explosion.

Neither did they find Chise. The girl disappeared shortly after firing the Amaterasu Cannon. She had turned off her tracking device and kept so quiet that even the returned Myzuki couldn't find her.

Claes earlier reported that the Amalgam cyborg they held prisoner had been rescued by her teammate. "The operation must have been intended to recover her. They sent Colt and Chloe as distractions and snuck into the base. It worked. That Venom must have been their back-up."

"Then why did it try stopping Chise?" the confused Robo Ky asked.

"I don't know," Claes lied.

**  
**_I made a promise to Henrietta. I keep my promises._

_Besides, Giuseppe's a good person. His handler was probably a good man, too. After all, he came back to try and protect his teammates– and saved us all._

**  
**Some unknown prodding led the questing pair to Planetarian Park. The softly lilting tones of "Gentle Jena" wafted across the half-restored park. A sadly-smiling Reverie, now fully repaired, met them at the entrance and led them inside to meet her temporary ward.

**  
**Chise huddled into the ill-fitting clothes that Reverie found for her. She seemed to have just finished crying, kept her head bowed and didn't greet her friends.

"Thank goodness you are all right," the relieved Robo Ky breathed. He knelt in front of her. "Where have you been? Shuji's been worried sick for you."

"Kill me. Please."

She could feel her friend's shocked stare. Meka Hisui didn't even blink; Chise seemed completely indifferent to the lethal request.

"I don't want to live anymore." She sniffled. "Not after what I've done here. Not after all the damage I've done and the people I've hurt."

"Chise…"

"I lost control of myself and nearly destroyed Machina Eden. An **enemy** saved this city by sacrificing himself. He **protected** this city. He was more human than I am. He belonged here more than I do.

"All I can do," the pale girl sobbed, "Is kill and maim and destroy. I can't protect anyone– not even the boy I love! I might even end up killing Shuuji one day! That's why… that's why I want to die!" Her pale face lifted. "I don't want to live with his blood on my hands and conscience!"

A metal hand rocked her face. Chise flopped upon the ground and wept. Robo Ky grabbed Meka Hisui's wrists.

"What are you doing?" he demanded. "Do you want her to go berserk again?"

"I calculate the probability of such an event as an acceptable risk. Also, from my observation of human social exchanges, I deemed slapping her was the most apt action to undertake."

Meka Hisui glanced at Chise with something akin to robotic disdain. "You call yourself a weapon. That is true. You say your purpose is to destroy. That is also true. You are the Saishu Heiki, the Ultimate Weapon."

The girl shrunk into her loaned clothes at mention of her hated title.

"However," Meka Hisui added, "It is up to the weapon's **wielder** to determine how and when that weapon must be used. The weapon kills **for** the wielder. The wielder **directs** the weapon to kill. The **weakness** thus lies not in the weapon but in the wielder. The weakness is not your weapon self but your **human self**. And humans," she noted with a distant sort of admiration, "Are surprisingly flexible when it comes to self-improvement."

Robo Ky scrutinized the PWAB war machine as if for the first time. She ignored him and challenged Chise.

"So, human, can you change yourself, or can you not? I have calculated your odds to be good. Prove me wrong if you can."

Done, Meka Hisui walked away.

**  
**Chise hugged herself.

_Shuuji…_

_I… want to live… I want to live with you forever…_

She cried. _I want to live!_

**  
**The hidden high school girl in the fuku uniform tipped her head in amusement at the Saikano's change of heart. The gesture spilled her luxuriously long navy blue hair past her gentle face.

"And here I thought **humans** were confusing. Their **creations** are even more convoluted in their decision-making processes than humans are. And yet this outcome is… surprisingly **interesting**. I see now why Nagato is so interested in them. This bears further observation."

Asakura Ryoko smiled to herself. "Proceeding with my mission…"


	36. Machina Eden 05: The Lovers

**The World Within And Without**

**  
Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**  
Machina Eden Arc**

_**Conclusion**_

**  
The Lovers**

**  
**"This," Triela wryly muttered to herself, "Is strangely amusing."

"What's amusing?" Hillshire asked as he peeled an apple for her. He sat on a stool next to her bed. (He stoically refused to sit on her bedside– and beside her– as she'd requested/teased/tempted him to.)

"Something Claes told me she read about hospital invalids in Japan and their visitors peeling fruit from them."

"Which is?"

"If I told you, it'd ruin the atmosphere."

"Right…"

"Apple please, Hun." She caught herself, thought one better and added with a broad grin, "I mean, Victor."

Hillshire groaned. _I really have to increase her conditioning one of these days._

**  
**Reverie happily hummed _Gentle Jena_ as she went about her morning tasks. Today was the reopening of Planetarian Park. The repaired Miss Jena and its machine's android operator were ready.

She heard footsteps behind her, human footsteps, a suggestion of a limp. "I'm sorry, Mr. Customer," she apologized, "But Planetarian Park is not yet open…"

"Not even for an old friend," the grizzled-looking man in bounty hunter outfit asked with a rather wry grin, "Who happened to be your 3,000,000th customer?"

Reverie's bright emerald eyes went wide in recognition– and joy.

"There are always exceptions." She happily bowed. "Welcome back, Mr. Customer."

**  
**"I'm home!"

Alouette immediately ran over to Zero and hugged him. "Welcome home, Zero!" she cheerfully greeted as the older Reploid fondly ruffled her hair.

"Yes," Ciel murmured from behind her daughter, smiling brightly, "Welcome home."

**  
**"Surprise!"

The beaming Sumomo wore a huge pink ribbon bow on her head. She was the cutest wrapped present in _The World Within And Without_.

"Well, Robo Ky? What do you think?"

"A precious gift," the free-willed mechanical knight thanked Ciel, using the title of his Author creator's _Shuffle_ fan fic.

**  
**"ACHOOO!!!"

"Bless you, Lone Wolf!!!"

**  
**Chise nervously waited in front of Planetarian Park. _Will he come? What will he think of me after what I've done?_

_Does Shuuji still love me?_

"Chise!" Shuuji's forceful hug almost crushed his girlfriend. It certainly swamped her with his worried warmth. "Thank God you're all right…"

"Shuuji… Do you–"

His arms tightened around her. "Don't say it. I don't want to hear it. I don't care about that. I love you. That's all that matters to me."

Chise wept. "I love you, too, Shuuji."

_Thank you, Meka Hisui-san..._

**  
**_"Dear Giuseppe. Last week I met that boy who looks like you. He went to get his sister. Claes and I let him. We parted as friends this time. We also promised to wait for each other. It is a promise I do not want to break– or forget. I won't forget._

"_Also, Claes didn't shoot him. I think they're come to an understanding and can become friends. I dearly hope so. I want him to get along well with my friends."_

"_Giuseppe's sister, Elena, seems a bit spoiled but is also a kind girl. I think she loves her brother very much– maybe even more than I do. I am envious of them– of her._

"_Triela has lately been bullying Mister Hillshire a lot. She keeps calling him Victor. I don't exactly understand her reasons, but Triela also seems to be a lot happier these days. Maybe that is being in love for her._

"_Angie has been given a new human body. Mister Marco adopter her and gave her a puppy. She named it Perro. Rico is going to be treated as well. I am happy for them._

"_I myself will continue with being a junior intelligence agent alongside Miss Mireille and Claes. I will protect people like Angie. I will protect Miss Mireille and Claes. I will make all of you proud and happy._

"_Most of all, I will wait. For you, Giuseppe, and also for the boy who looks like you."_

Henrietta closed her diary. She smiled.

_Giuseppe. I'm waiting for you._

**  
**"Well," Robo Ky decided, Sumomo sitting on his left shoulder, "This is probably goodbye."

"Yes," Meka Hisui agreed.

The two mechanical warriors stood at the Second Gate of Machina Eden. Robo Ky was about to begin a new journey. Meka Hisui was staying behind to oversee the paperwork concerning her Machine Eden citizenship.

"Don't worry," the mechanical knight assured his friend, for that was what she was to him now. "They're sure to clear you for full citizenship."

"I expect it."

An awkward silence followed.

"Don't get yourself killed." Meka Hisui found she could say those words with true affection instead of emotionless rancor.

"I promise I won't. See you soon."

"You, too."

Robo Ky turned and walked off rather sadly. It had been pleasant to stay at Machina Eden despite the unexpected battles and tragedies. Maybe, one of these days, he could truly settle down, his wanderlust over, and be at home.

He felt good that Meka Hisui had grown so much as an independent person in the short while they've met. Following the previous week's battle against Colt and Chloe, he had planned to ask Ciel to remove the suppressor inside Meka Hisui's head. To everyone's surprise, Meka Hisui herself had asked to have her PWAB programming replaced.

"Just let me keep my memories," she appended. Ciel fulfilled that request and more.

When Meka Hisui woke up, reprogrammed for the first time to be her own self, a new and independent intelligent machine, everyone in the lab– Ciel, Alouette and Zero; Reverie and her "Mr. Customer"; Henrietta, Rico, Claes and the recovered Triela, plus their handlers Mireille Bouquet, Jean and Hillshire/Victor Hartmann; Marco and Angelica Toni, with Angie's puppy Perro; Chise and Shuuji; Robo Ky and Sumomo– cheered.

The party was memorable. A reluctant Hillshire proved a killer at karaoke. Also, someone– Robo Ky suspected Meka Hisui executing her first prank, though Triela was also a likely suspect– spiked Ciel's drink with alcohol. The drunken Ciel sang several songs in an off-key tone at the top of her voice and clumsily flirted with all the men– which drew scary looks from the men's female partners. Very dangerous: all the women in the room could level the room at the very least, and one had nearly nuked Machine Eden just a week ago.

Zero ended up carrying his soused –girlfriend? Everyone snickered at that description– to her room. That noble action haunted the Reploid ever since as everyone wondered just **what** he and Ciel did in the admittedly prolonged period they spent in her room.

Alouette started calling Zero "Papa" after that, just like Triela now called Hillshire "Victor". Both men were unsettled at the very least by their new call signs.

Those and all his other precious memories kept Robo Ky going in the darkest nights of his life. They promised him brighter days to come. And those days always came as promised.

_This is life. This is what it is to live._

He looked forward now. Past was past. The future waited for him. It was time to move on.

Sumomo, looking over his shoulder during his reminisce, suddenly shouted. "Robo Ky! Look!"

"Wait!"

Meka Hisui caught up to him. If she had been a human girl, she would have been panting with the effort. As it was, her armored faceplates were tinged red with excess heat. She stared at him expectantly– hopefully?

Robo Ky did not understand.

Neither did Meka Hisui– at least, not completely.

**  
**_Why? Why can't I reach it?_

**_Because_ _you are not really trying. You have to really want it to get it._**

_I want it._

_**Then reach for it now.**_

**  
**_I remember that dream._

_I did as you told me to, Robo Ky. I reached for it._

_I found you._

**  
**"I think," Meka Hisui decided, trying a smile and finding she liked it, that it looked good on her, "I think I will go with you. If you don't mind, that is?"

Robo Ky smiled back. "Not at all."

**  
**Jeremy Colt grumbled to himself over a bowl of admittedly good-tasting meat stew. "You never told me there was a time limit to the trick you did with my head."

"I did," Chloe primly countered.

"No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did. Are we going to be childish about this?"

"Screw you, woman."

"Language, Jeremy. The children might hear you. Their hearing is enhanced, after all."

Their survival was one of those last-minute miracles that usually happened only to good guys. Colt regained consciousness, however pained, in time to throw a psychic shield around Chloe and himself before the Venom's barrier failed and Chise's plasma blast hit. He blacked out shortly, though.

He woke up days later, still alive if feeling somewhat deep fried and his head hurting, surrounded by Chloe, that cyborg boy– Giuseppe– and a cute girl who turned out to be the boy's sister (half-sister, actually; the two had different fathers and so barely looked alike.)

Giuseppe and Elena had found him and Chloe shortly after Chise's nuke strike. The two were looking for their sensei. They brought the unconscious assassins to their base camp and nursed both adults back to health.

Colt had suffered intense burns but healed pretty quickly. Chloe was much better off because Colt had wrapped his body around her to further protect her.

Of course the rather provocative position they'd been found in had gotten their rescuers to blush. "Might as well tell them about the birds and the bees, too," Colt groused on second thought.

His inhuman regeneration kicked in soon after the battle. Colt speedily made a complete recovery from his burns. Chloe did her acupuncture magic again and eased his mental pain. Colt reminded himself to be more careful now, though. There were limits as to how much he could push his brain. _Mind over matter, my ass…_

Giuseppe reported over dinner that everyone at Machina Eden thought Colt and Chloe dead. "The plasma blast obliterated everything around you. No suspects, as Sensei would say, means no case to prosecute."

The boy did not look too sad somehow at his handler's death. _Well,_ Colt grimly thought, _getting vaporized instantly probably didn't hurt._

Chloe nodded. "Everyone thinks we're dead. We can live our lives out now in peace."

"Sounds good to me." Colt took another bite out of his mea and nodded. "Nice feeds. What's this stuff called?" he asked Giuseppe.

"Menudo. It's a Spanish dish that the Filipinos adopted and modified."

"It's great. You ought to get the recipe, Chloe. I'm kind of tired of all the bread and soup you keep stuffing into my face every time it's your turn to–" He froze. "Wait. This is Filipino?"

"Yes. Why?"

Colt's brain raced. He was Canadian. Chloe was French (or some other European nationality or maybe an alien from outer space). The two kids were Italians. The only Filipino in their merry group was Rolito, but he was dead–

Without a word, Colt rushed outside. He spotted the curious Elena and Giuseppe (_why weren't they depressed?_ He now knew why), a camouflaged Venom with a bulkier torso, what looked to be equipment for remote controlling Arm Slaves over long ranges– and the always-smiling, bespectacled man in black tending a fireside cooking pot with expert nonchalance.

"**ROUGE!"**

"Ah. Crazy Horse. Are you feeling better now?"

Rolito smiled.


	37. Calendar 01: Air Pirate

"Bearing one five niner, heading to one eight four, nine zero miles, angels two zero, speed one zero zero…"

"ID it, Octy. Course correction, June. Bring us about. I want to approach them from behind. Novel, engage ECS."

"Aye, aye, Captain John."

They felt their airship slip into electric invisibility. The minutes rumbled by.

"Captain! I have visual on bogey! Bogey confirmed to be _Majestic Queen_!"

"Very good, Octy. Keep us on course, June. Novel, give me full power from the engines. Let's catch up to our errant family member, shall we?"

"Roger!"

The Captain tapped the mike. "Attention. This is the Captain speaking. Red Alert. All crew, battle stations. I repeat: Red Alert. All crew, battle stations. July, stand by to receive."

A chorus of "Ayes" and "Rogers" responded.

He stood up. Now came the hard part: waiting. He suppressed an urge to pace and settled for rubbing his thumb on the smooth wooden pommel of his brother's katana.

_Akari. Good hunting. And be careful._

* * *

**  
The World Within And Without**

**  
Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

* * *

**  
Calendar Arc**

**Episode One**

**  
Air Pirate**

**  
**It started off innocently enough. A large box, six by six by six feet, wrapped up with colorful paper and decorated by a cute red ribbon bow on top, impudently sat on the performance stage.

A brass band sat below and to the extreme left of the stage. They provided a tremulous tune more concordant with a M. Night Shymalan horror/suspense movie than a magic show. That bit of SFX cued the entry from Stage Right of one of the ship's guards. A beefy man with a submachine guy, he walked over to the box and, without any preamble or warning as to what he was about to do, emptied a thirty-round clip into it.

The audience screamed and shouted. Alarmed guests stood up to run.

The band suddenly struck up a grandiosely sustained drumbeat that both persuaded the departing members of the audience to sit and introduced the star of tonight's show.

To unending gasps, the box shivered. Its ribbon bow unraveled and fluttered away. No longer held in place, its top popped off to fireworks and smoke even as its bullet-ridden sides toppled to reveal its confidently smirking content.

The magician girl gracefully arose from her smoky concealment. Though not especially pretty, she had a striking countenance that held her audience's interest. Long violet hair spilled from beneath the rim of her black bandanna and magician's hat and down her shoulders. Her black-red magician's cape, long-sleeved tuxedo and white gloves completely contrasted with her cut-off blue short pants. The bottom of her white undershirt was cut short and tied into a knot, leaving her lean strong midriff bare. Her eyes were closed.

She was completely unharmed.

The well-dressed audience broke into applause. They settled back into their chairs, anticipatory now.

The girl's bow was full of flourish. Her eyes opened as she stood up. Her pupils were bright blue orbs. She smirked.

"The curtains are up and the stage is set. It's show time."

* * *

**  
**Rione Asuka Hunter gushed. "Yay! Someone paraphrased me, Four-chan!"

"Yes, Rione-chan," Four Murasame Darren agreed. "Paraphrases are almost as good as quotes."

Beside her, Negi Springfield busily fiddled with Arc Light's settings. The nearby Nazareth plotted to revenge himself on Evangeline A.K. McDowell when next they met. Soon. Very soon.

* * *

**  
**The magician girl dazzled her expectant audience. She pulled rabbits out of her hat and endless scarves out of her sleeves. She juggled swords, swallowed and regurgitated them, then proved them real blades by cutting up apples with them. In the middle of her magic tricks she often twirled and tossed her wand and swords into the air as a cheerleader would with her baton, juggling three-pound weapons with a deft air of nonchalance.

All this while, she waited for the right moment to strike.

She was a stage magician, yes; a true practitioner of sleight of hand. The first trick she learned was to make a coin appear and disappear in her empty palm. She picked up the rest during her long sojourn, sharpened her skills as she would sharpen her swords and knives upon a whetstone, finding them useful to divert time and attention.

(Not to say she did not have even one bit of real magic. She did. Her Japanese blood gave her that. She just didn't use it much. No sense giving it away when secrecy served her best.)

But she had been a murderer for almost as long. Taken in by the Assassin Guild– no; by **Zato-sama**. That distinction, at least, would never change for her– at a young age, extensively trained in the arts of assassination, as skilled with sinking her swords into a man's vitals as she was with juggling those same weapons to entertain an audience. Her magician act served as distraction, a veil of harmlessness she wore about herself to deflect attention and dispel suspicions, allowing her to enter the most secure and hallow of abodes without sounding an alarm. Then, when her target least expected it, she struck. Quickly. Silently. Lethally.

She had never failed a mission. Next to her Zato-sama, Venom and her rival Millia Rage, she was the best in the Guild.

But those days of vainglory were behind her now. No longer an assassin, though she retained all her fighting skills and kept in tiptop shape. Not a true magician, though she performed with all the pizzazz of a dedicated professional.

She was quite different from the old her. And it showed.

"For my next trick," she announced in that patently false air of cheer, "Sawing a person in half, I will need a volunteer."

A surprising number of hands shot up, their owners made brave by alcohol and the performer's earlier display of skill. How bad could it be? Besides, it was all just smoke and mirrors, right?

Her eyes pretended to sweep the lounge. But she already had someone in mind: the host of the party, a somewhat overweight man in his mid-forties and an opulent tux, her target.

He was a secret supporter of the Post War Administration Bureau.

The newly-formed Unified Continuum Police Force wanted him, or rather the information he held inside his head. Her group offered to get him for them. She volunteered to personally take on the mission. Alone, of course; there was speed and stealth and her still-significant pride to consider.

And so here she was aboard the luxury airship _Majestic Queen_, posing as someone she was not quite, but close enough, her favorite alias.

The startled man brought his hands up. "Oh, I'm sorry, I can't do that…"

The audience, however, thought otherwise. They cheerfully and loudly egged him to go on stage. Since many of them were business associates and friends of his whom he did not want to disappoint, the man reluctantly hiked up the stage and clambered into the box.

"Don't worry," the girl assured him as she locked the lid, "An ant bite hurts far worse."

The audience chuckled. The man was unable to do the same– and instantly paled when the girl pulled out from her impossible cape her sawing implement of choice.

It was a chainsaw.

A good yank on the starter cord got the beast to growl in angry anticipation. The girl managed to keep it in control. She waddled over to the coffin with her heavy charge. "Now, sir, stay perfectly still…"

The frightened man did as ordered.

The far doors burst open. Gunmen flooded the auditorium. An entire arsenal of weapons aimed at the stage.

The new development caught the audience by surprise. They remained unperturbed for the most part, though. Maybe it was part of the act.

"Get her!" one of the guards yelled in an unmistakably hostile voice.

The man in the coffin jerked.

Her disguise had been compromised. The details, the how and why, didn't matter. Reacting did. As the Americans were wont to say, time to get the Hell out of Dodge.

The girl dropped the still-running chainsaw and ducked behind her coffin-encased target. Whirring serrated teeth wildly bit into finely polished wood. Her target winced. That floor was expensive!

The bodyguards hesitated. No one wanted to shoot their boss. The man's screamed orders reinforced that mindset.

"The first guy who hits me–"

She had no such inhibitions. Imperceptible twists of her wrists caused hidden compartments in the sleeves of her tuxedo to disgorge their deadly contents into her hands. Steel daggers in the shape of playing cards slid out of their hiding places and slot themselves tight in between her fingers. Her arms cast out in deceptively slow movements.

Razor edges cut into hands and arms. Yelps and curses resounded. Men dropped their guns or ducked behind the nearest cover. Someone fired. Bullets thudded into the coffin– stopped by the hidden metal sheeting in between the outer and inner wood layers.

The man screamed. The audience did the same. People hurriedly made for the nearest exits. They smashed aside or ran over some of the bodyguards. Inadvertently they also protected the magician girl by blocking the bodyguards' vision and firing fields.

Somehow the target's voice pierced through the sustained bedlam.

"That's it, Bob! You're fired!"

Only seconds to pull off her escape. The girl focused. She mentally sought out that single place in the sky where she would be safe, the place she called home. She mentally recreated every single detail that composed it: bright red armored hull and octuple airliner engines dotted by gun turrets and radar antenna; swabbed decks and polished rails; the small but comfortable room, **her** room; cheerful girls in part-pirate, pirate-schoolgirl outfits; and the smiling man in black on the bridge whom she had come to intensely care for as a commander.

There. The familiar red airship rapidly closed on her current ride. She smiled.

_Right on schedule, John._

Fingers lightly resting upon the cover of the coffin, she murmured, "Exit Stage Left."

The smoke bomb at the foot of the stage exploded. Dark smoke rapidly filled the whole auditorium.

When the air cleared, neither magician girl nor her target were nowhere to be found.

**  
**_"July here, Captain! Akari's on board! She's okay! She's got the package!"_

"Excellent, July. June, take us out of here at full stealth and power."

"Aye, Captain!"

The man released his breath. _Good job, Akari. And thank God you're okay._

**  
**Whatever vitriol the PWAB man wished to spout was instantly dampened once he realized he was no longer on his _Majestic Queen_, but inside the cavernous cargo hold of another, different airship.

"What the hell? What is this? How did we get here?"

Sprawled atop the coffin surface, his exhausted but ebullient kidnapper said: "Magic."

Two girls hurriedly approached them. One wore an eye patch over her left eye. A cutlass dangled from its scabbard on her right hip. Her companion was lithe and tanned and moved with the sleek grace of a cheetah. Both girls wore outfits resembling serafuku combined with short pants, bandannas and skull-and-crossbones insignia. They walked with the swaying manner of people used to going about a flying ship's rough motions.

"Air pirates!"

"Jellyfish Air Pirates," the magician corrected. "At your service," she added with a wicked grin, quoting her Captain and the previous Captain before him.

Eye Patch boisterously patted her back. The girl's good eye brimmed with excitement.

"Nice one, Akari! I see you got the package here in one piece."

"Of course, July." Now that she didn't have to continue her charade anymore, Akari reverted to her usual mocking tone. "I wouldn't have come back otherwise."

"And you'd better not," the tanned girl, Augus, joked, "Or else it's the plank for you if so!"

"I'd like to see the lot of you try and get me on it."

They laughed. Their prisoner coughed diplomatically.

"Can you let me out of here now? I wet my pants, and I'd like to change…"

No one paid any attention to him save to secure his coffin prison tight. Akari discarded her magician hat and took hold of the top of her thick blue hair.

_Finally, I can get rid of this stupid wig._

Beneath the blue mass was an unruly forest of spiky, dark brown bangs. They were trimmed more neatly now than when she first set foot on the Mayship; she allowed Sephy to cut her hair.

She fiddled with her left eye. Something small and clear popped into her fingers– a contact lens, shaded deep blue. Her left pupil was a fiery ruby red, the complete opposite of her right eye.

The man in the coffin gaped. He knew that face! Hell, he'd hired her before!

Akari Odine smirked. "Consider yourself lucky this is a kidnapping and not a hit."

**  
**"You okay, Akari?" July asked the admittedly haggard Akari as they headed for the bridge. "You look beat."

"Yeah, I'm just drained. Hadn't teleported anything other than myself over that big a distance in a long while. It's not much."

"Up for reporting to the Captain?"

Her pointed stare asked if the question was a joke. The answering look was a yes. Akari would fall on her own swords first before admitting to weakness before the Captain.

Their prisoner had been dumped into the brig. The Mayship was speedily headed for a rendezvous with a UCPF Silvana-class atmospheric battleship, the _Alex Rowe_. _Alex Rowe_ had important personages aboard, old friends who were only now able to return to the place they called home. Everyone eagerly looked forward to the reunion. Everyone, that is, but Akari.

"So how was the mission?" August interrupted. Akari grinned.

"No challenge at all. Would you believe I didn't have to kill anyone?"

"Good for you!" Augus' smile turned sly. "Especially since I bet Febby thirty bucks that there wouldn't be any fatalities."

"Half the winnings are mine, then," Akari reminded her.

"Half?" Her friend feigned horror. "That's highway robbery!"

"And we're models of law-abiding citizens."

The good-natured ribbing continued up to the bridge.

The previous occupant of the chair would have swiveled it about to handsomely smile at them. The current occupant stood up. His smile lacked the cockiness of his brother but none of the warmth.

Akari did a mock-salut. "Akari Odine, reporting as ordered, Captain. Mission accomplished."

"Welcome home, Akari," John told her. "And good job."

* * *

**Tsuzuku/Itutuloy/To Be Continued**


	38. Calendar 02: Reunion

_**MRIYA LOST HER FEATHERS. RECOVERY IS IMMINENT. IORI'S ASSISTANCE IS URGENTLY NEEDED.**_

"_Mriya? I think… I know who sent the orb."_

"_What? Who?"_

**  
**Thinking back to that abruptly-ending Halloween, her long brown hair flying in the wind rushing past her face, she had to smile. "Lone Wolf," the girl allowed, watching the approaching, familiar airship that would always be home sweet home, "You sure know how to simplify reunions…"

"What was that, dear?"

"Nothing, Bridget, nothing…"

* * *

**  
The World Within And Without**

**  
Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**Featured Anime:** Coyote Ragtime Show

**  
Calendar Arc**

**Episode Two**

**  
Reunion**

* * *

**  
**"We're back!" 

"Welcome back!"

Hugs and kisses and cheers freely exchanged. Family reunions were always joyous occasions despite what a lot of anime made them out to be. This was no exception.

"So how was England?" Leap asked over the friendly ruckus. In her arms, pink-haired baby March gurgled happily.

"Cold and foggy," May said off-handedly. "The people there were **just** foggy. But Bridget's parents are great. They **adored** me on first sight." She grinned impishly. "My father-in-law kept nagging me for a grandchild. I told him that Bridget and I were working really hard at it." She patted her tummy appreciatively.

"May!" her rightly-embarrassed husband protested in a half-hearted tone.

"That's a nice tan, April-senpai," admired June. "You look much fitter than you did before you left.

"Hiking across the whole Philippines will do that to you." April, her brown hair tied in a ponytail, gave the practically sparkling Mayship an approving nod. "I see you took good care of my baby, June, Octy, Novel. Good job!"

June blushed. Octy and Novel grinned.

"I see Jack's still alive," Augus noted on the side.

"And standing rather close to you," added July.

"Without a sea of blood and a wake of destruction trailing you," finished Febby.

The threesome gave April naughty zoom-in-close looks. June was also curious. April only shrugged.

"We came to an understanding. It served us both to quit killing each other."

"So," Sephy shyly asked, "So you're in love with each other now?"

April face-vaulted. "Where did you get such an idea?" she hotly demanded of her abashed crewmate.

"Well, couples in _The World Within And Without_ are usually love-hate couples with tsundere girls and perverted guys…"

"Bite your tongue, Sephy. All those shoujo manga and Harlequin Mills & Boone novels you've been reading have rotted your brain."

"Gomen…"

Jack rolled his eyes at the overflowing sappiness. "Stop that," April told him.

"What? Can't I get even a gesture in edgewise?"

"Yes. Saving you from Four back in Makiling ought to count for something on your part."

"That wasn't how it happened!" Riled by the reminder of how close he'd been turned into a girl, Jack angrily countered, "And if we're going to dwell on unsettled debts, how about that fight with Kawana Misaki in Sulu? You'd have lost **that** if it weren't for **me**!"

"**That** doesn't count!" The memory of her mud wrestling fiasco turned April a pretty tomato red. "Besides, **you** got me into that match in the first place!"

"Well, you were the one who dragged me into it and turned it into a **strip** match!"

"That was after you **groped** me, you pervert!"

"That was an **accident**! Besides, you don't have **any** assets to grope in the first place, you **brick wall**!"

"What did you call me, **pervert**?"

"I said, you brick wa–"

April jumped Jack. Scuffle began. Their spectators grimaced or cheered as their wont.

"Get 'im, April!"

"Take it to that enemy of all women!"

"Go, Jack, go!" Febby shrugged off July and Augus' stares. "Hey, Jack's cute, I'd give him that."

"SHUT UP!" April yelled from where she was murdering Jack with an abdominal stretch submission move straight out of Japanese pro wrestling. "HE'S MINE, YOU HEAR! MINE!!!"

"Yep, nothing's changed..."

Sephy sighed, but in joy. _No. Everything's changed…_

**  
**Mismatched eyes watched the boisterous reunion fifteen feet below with reserved intensity. Akari leaned upon crossed arms that in turn rested upon steel safety railings. A pout was below her dignity, so she settled for a soft sigh of an emotion she dared hope would never bother her again: envy.

They looked so happy. Her Jellyfish teammates and the newcomers enjoyed each others' company. They belonged with each other.

She didn't. Despite her own bravely foolish little hopes, hopes inspired by the very same people who held their arms out in welcome to her, she was not one of them, not one with them. She was a stranger sharing a strange land with a strange people. She would never belong with them.

"You should go down there," the man in black standing behind her said.

"I deputize you to go in my stead." She didn't even bother casually looking over her shoulder. "Practice what you preach and lead by example as all stellar captains are supposed to do."

John only smiled. "I don't want to spoil it for the girls."

"Same here. If I go there, I'll only come off as an outsider, complicate things."

"You're not an outsider. You're part of this family now."

"So are you– much more than I am– but I don't see **you** down there bestowing blessings like the Pope Himself."

"I've got more immediate concerns."

"Like what?"

"Like you, Akari. You're a problem child," John said with a smile. "You need a lot of personal attention."

Akari glared daggers at him. "Don't patronize me. You're my Captain, not my father."

"I apologize for making you feel bad."

"And stop acting so cloyingly sincere. It's annoying."

"I apologize again."

She sniffed in disdain and looked away– but not before John glimpsed a dangerous smile already playing upon her face.

Akari straightened aggressively. "I think," she wickedly admitted, her intent far more of amusement than malice, her own way of playing coy, "I think a complication wouldn't be **too** bad, after all. Wouldn't you agree, Captain?"

So saying, she leapt off the railing– and into the fray.

John sighed. "You could have used the stairs at least…"

**  
**"And here we were all preparing for World War III with Iori," July was saying.

May sighed. "I don't know when Iori-oniichan's coming back." She had just told them about Iori's disappearance and Lone Wolf NEO's message. "I know he can take care of himself, but I still worry."

"I'm sure Lone Wolf NEO knows what he's doing," April reassured her best friend.

"I hope so…"

Some sixth sense sounded. May spun around to catch a girl skillfully land on her feet fifteen feet away. Behind her back she felt the other Jellyfish slightly draw back in apprehension. That told her the newcomer was dangerous.

"Who the heck are you?" May demanded. "And what are you doing on **my** ship?"

"I'm Akari Odine. The girl haughtily put both her hands on her hips and smirked. "You're May? The second-in-command of the Jellyfish Air Pirates?"

"That's right. Why?"

Akari drew her blades out of her cape. She pointed one at May's face. "I challenge you for your position of leadership."

"Actually," Jack managed from where April had a sleeper hold on him, "April's the real–"

His opponent tightened her pain grip. Jack choked on his words.

"Who the hell let you on board my ship?" May demanded.

"Why, our good Captain John did." Akari threw a smirk over her shoulder. "Didn't you, **Captain**?"

May glared. John almost groaned.

_Did Johnny ever go through scenes like this everyday?_

"Well," May declared, "Nothing's final unless I clear it!"

She whistled. A bright blue bottlenose dolphin, one of her _qi_-created assistants, bounced her anchor from its beaked snout into her waiting hands. May rested the monster weapon on her shoulder and got into her stance.

"You're on, Akari! If you win, you can take my place. But if you lose, you get off my ship and never come back!"

"You'll have to kill me to win!"

"Consider yourself buried and forgotten, then!"

"Dream on!"

Akari lunged forward. May met her midway. Steel clashed on steel. Battle cries sounded as the combatants started unloading projectiles and melee strikes on each other.

John and Bridget groaned. Sephy actually chuckled.

"I don't see what's so funny," April muttered as she let go of the now-insensible Jack.

"Akari was a loner when she first came aboard," Sephy explained. "She only thought of herself and stayed away from us. She even wanted to kill Captain John. But she changed for the better and became a true part of our family."

"I still don't see any change for the better."

"That," July chimed in, her eyes taking in the battle like a lover's would his beloved, "Is just Akari's way of getting to know other people. She's a scrappy sort, which is why we get along."

"Oh, please. Don't give me that crap about people knowing other people better if they first fight. This isn't a shounen manga loaded with testosterone and fighting tournaments."

Bridget was about to say something to the contrary. April shut him up with a sideways glance.

"But can't you say they look like they're enjoying it?" Augus asked aloud.

April watched Akari and May duel across the length and breadth of the Mayship. She had to admit that the two did look like they were having fun. Kind of like how she squabbled with Jack or May with Bridget. Save that they didn't go brandishing deadly weapons and qi critters at each other.

"Akari and May are very much alike," concluded Sephy. "They're headstrong, reckless, fearless and hopelessly in love with their Captains. I think they will get along very well."

"If they don't end up killing each other first." April caught herself. "What was that last one, Sephy? About May and Akari and their Captains?"

"Hmm? Did I say anything about that?"

"You really have been reading too many romance novels…"

**  
**Dinner found everyone happy and alive. May and Akari sported some minor injuries, nothing that really hampered them. They had become so engrossed with their duel that, with the food beginning to cool, Leap grabbed them by their shirt collars and dragged them to the dining room despite their protests. The two settled for a verbal continuation over their meals.

"How'd you reflect Yamada-san back at me with just your cape?"

"It's an aikido trick. If you can find the right angle and apply the right amount of force, you can redirect any physical attack."

By now Akari didn't bother with her old custom of first checking the food for poisons. _I'm getting careless. Not to mention spoiled. Leap's cooking is superb as usual. I'm going to get fat on this rich food, slow down in a fight._

Despite her self-recriminations, she soon went to grab a fourth serving of roast beef, gravy, creamy macaroni and salad from the buffet table.

_Weak! Weakweakweak!_

"I wish I could be as thin as she is," May mumbled, amazed the skinny Akari could eat so much and not show it in her body.

"But I like girls who are slightly plump," Bridget protested.

May glared at her husband– then realized that he was very slender for a boy. In fact, he was more slender than **her**.

"Uh, May? What's wrong?"

"Bridget… You…"

Jack licked his lips. The last slice of roast beef sultrily reclined across its serving platter. It beckoned to him like a wistful dream. And it was his, all his for the taking.

_Come to Papi!_

Fork and knife approached the slice with perversely predatory intent.

"Great, there's still one left." And without further preamble, Akari snatched up the roast slice.

Jack gaped.

Not yet content, the brunette proceeded to empty the tray's thin layer of greasy meat juice over her meal.

July laughed. "Steak War One has just begun," she told the similarly sniggering Augus.

April also busied herself with Leap's cooking. _Yes! No more balot and adidas for me! Though the menudo was nice…_

* * *

**  
**Jeremy Colt grumbled at the sky for no apparent reason. "That's it, stick it to me more, you sadistic bastard, even though the story's no longer focused on me…"

Rolito laughed. Chloe pretended not to be listening, though she did smile slightly.

"I saw that, woman!"

* * *

**  
**John watched his wards' friendly bickering with reserved pleasure.

_It's been a long time since all the Jellyfish Air Pirates had gathered together._ The only one missing was Dizzy. They would pick her up from Kiev in a day or so. Then the reunion would be complete.

The mood was infectious. Everyone it touched instantly fell under its spell. Even Akari, the unapproachable lone wolf, had swallowed it hook, line and sinker. She even dove headfirst into the thick of the festivities.

_That's the way we are. No man is an island. Everyone wants to be part of something special._

_Everyone wants to be loved._

_Johnny, my brother… your children are happy. I know this makes you happy, too._

_I will protect their right to this happiness. Always._

**  
**"On course," June noted, "And on schedule."

"_Radar's clear,"_ Octy announced over the radio from her position in the engine room/auxiliary bridge. _"ECS is running fine."_

"Good job, everyone." Acting Captain Febby gestured grandiosely. "Carry on."

"Don't let it get to your head," Novel advised.

"Silence, knave, or it's the gallows for thou."

"Yes, Milady Mirabou."

Chuckles filled the bridge. The trio (along with Octy, the ship engineer and therefore perpetually on duty) manned the Mayship tonight while everyone else ate and rested.

There was little to do. The Mayship was heavily automated and could fly itself pretty well. Her ECS protected her from the prying eyes of any hunters out there.

But the ship's first captain had always decreed that there should be a human component in the loop as back-up. Just in case.

"I'm going to go take a real look around." Novel fingered her spyglass meaningfully.

"You outdated old fogy," teased Febby.

"At least I have a useful hobby."

"But astrology makes more money than astronomy!"

Novel was about to voice her rejoinder when she caught a flash out of the corner of her eye despite her obtrusive bangs. "Huh?"

They turned in time to see– and feel– the first cannon shell hit.

* * *

**  
**Unseen, the Marauder quickly closed on the Mayship. Advanced ECS shrouded the sixty-foot long jet aircraft against detection. Sensors specifically attuned to the subtle electrical field generated by holo-emitters easily kept track of its lumbering quarry.

The pilot was a dark-haired beauty in a frilly black Gothic dress. She steered the Marauder with superb skill. "Make your shots count, Sept," she told her copilot/gunner.

She meant the dozen automated gun turrets protecting the upper hull of the Mayship. Even a glancing hit from those large-caliber weapons could cripple or outright destroy the Marauder. They could not let that happen.

"Roger."

They spent the next ten minutes patiently stalking their prey. Each minute saw them closer and closer. The pilot waited for the best opportunity to attack. She got it.

"Now!" The Marauder rocketed upwards. In ten seconds it was four hundred feet above the Mayship and a mere six hundred behind it. "Weapons hot!"

Seeker heads came to growling life. The barrel of a 100mm high-velocity rapid-fire gun jerked within the Marauder's chin turret mount as targeting computers sought a favorable firing solution.

"Take those turrets out now!"

"Roger."

The Marauder's cannon raved. Turrets exploded one after the other. A salvo of homing missiles finished off the rest.

"All turrets destroyed," Sept quietly reported. "Topside is clear."

"Good shooting, Sept. Get ready!" the pilot yelled to her ten sisters in the back. "We're going in!"

One of the girls, a cute brown-haired girl who would have reminded certain people of an Italian cyborg agent with an FN P90 and a reputation for going berserk, nudged her sleeping seatmate. Her look-alike yawned and stretched her arms.

"Are we there yet?" she sleepily asked a third girl. All three looked exactly alike.

"Yup!"

That brought the girl fully awake. "Yay! Playtime!"

"Brace yourselves!" the pilot ordered. She allowed herself a sadistic little smile as the Mayship grew before their cockpit. "Here we go!"

* * *

**  
**"We're under attack!" Febby hit the alarms. "June! Evasive maneuvers!"

"Roger!" The Mayship shuddered slowly as it ponderously changed course.

"_All upper hull turrets have been destroyed,"_ Octy reported rather calmly for the life-and-death situation they were in. _"We're defenseless."_

"How did they get so close?" Febby demanded. "I thought our ECS was up?"

"_It was. I assume the enemy has sensors tuned specifically to defeat ECS."_

"But how would they know where we were? And why are they attacking us?"

"_They must have somehow learned about our rendezvous with the _Alex Rowe_. That would suggest a connection with the PWAB agent we captured. Revenge, most likely, or a counterblow by the PWAB, triggered this attack."_

"You have an answer for everything, don't you?"

"_Not quite. I have yet to produce a suitable answer explaining the meaning of meaning."_

"No!"

Novel's frantic cry snapped her fellow bridge bunnies around yet again. The girl was still scanning the sky behind them for an unseen enemy. "They're going to ram us! Brace for impact!"

Moments later, the attacking airship crashed belly-first into the Mayship's upper hull.

* * *

**  
**

Battle lights bathed the whole dining room a morbid red. Klaxons screeched. The celebrants' heads snapped up in shock and surprise.

"What the–"

Metal loudly crunched against metal. The Mayship lurched violently. Unwary diners tumbled out of their seats. Various unattended objects leapt into all directions.

Akari had the singular experience of watching the contents of her plate defy gravity right before her very eyes. She kept her cool and balance, though, and landed on her feet expertly. She also caught the falling food.

_It'd be a shame to waste all that good cooking. Now, what the fuck is going on?_

**  
**June had experienced quite a lot in her sojourn as an air pirate. That included a number of mid-air collisions. What she never expected was getting _involved_ in such an incident. She'd expected both her skill and the Mayship's sheer size to deter other airships from getting too close. Now she knew what those WWII US Navy sailors felt when the Japanese kamikazes came screaming down their throats. It was knowledge she could have lived without.

"Is everyone all right?"

"My pride is hurt," Febby weakly joked, "And that's saying a lot."

"June? Febby?" Novel had her spyglass to her eye. Her voice quavered slightly. "We're in trouble…"

* * *

**  
**Twelve women exited the Marauder. The majority of them wore lacy dresses of Gothic fashion. One, a brown-haired girl with a gentle face, dressed in meido clothes. Their final member stood out as the only one in an elegant blue-gray suit meant for men.

They toted an arsenal of firearms, a katana and throwing knives. Their leader, the Marauder's pilot, pulled a gold-plated Luger out from its holster, cocked its hammer and held it above her head in a very dangerous manner. She regarded the smoking airship they'd just invaded with contempt reminiscent of a certain magician assassin girl they would soon battle.

Her name was April. She sneered.

**  
**"Johnny…"

* * *

**  
Tsuzuku/Itutuloy/To Be Continued**


	39. Calender 03: Counterattack

The years had been kind to Madame Marciano. Her beauty, little faded from the night an admirer nicknamed her "Black Rose", remained the talk of the Underworld. She still caught men's appreciations and women's envy, still wore fetching backless black opera gowns with plunging necklines without the slightest hint of self-consciousness, only incomparable confidence and icy beauty.

Her affectionate admirer was dead. She had him killed for betraying. Slowly. Brutally. She savored each lingering moment, each drop of agony extracted. And then her favorite (as far as she could have favorites) daughter put a bullet in his head at point blank range.

And that made her quite happy.

Madame Marciano was one of the most feared figures in the shadowy Criminal Guild of _The World Within And Without_. She was everything a budding villain like Oswald Friece could ever aspire to be: beautiful, cold, ruthless, rich and powerful. Her slightest word made men or broke them into irrecoverable little bits and pieces.

But she seethed. Oh, how she seethed.

Just one man had ever gotten the better of her. That man escaped her for the longest time by virtually dropping out of her sight. Frustrated, she was forced to redirect her efforts elsewhere. Even when she was finally free to concentrate on **him**, he could not be found anywhere.

But she never forgot. No. No one crossed Marciano and lived.

Now, after so much time and effort, she knew everything about **him** that mattered: his current location, his allies, even his real name. She had **him** within her grasp and power. And she had never forgotten his name. It was the dagger buried in her back that she allowed to stay in place as a hateful, necessary reminder. It was the bitter toxin she fed herself every day in order to become stronger, to become immune to it, to **him**.

She regarded her assembled Daughters over a glass of expensive red wine with deadly disinterest. Her cold gaze dwelt upon their leader. "April."

"Yes, Mother?"

"Find this 'Mayship'. Find its captain. Bring him back to me **alive**."

"Yes, Mother."

Her Daughters departed without a sound. They would return with **him** in shackles, or they would not come back at all. It did not matter. They could be replaced. All of them were expendable.

Regardless of the outcome, she would not be stopped by anything.

Marciano swished her wineglass. She remembered that **he** liked wine and wooed her over such one torrid night. The memory of that moment of weakness scorched itself into her mind.

But soon she would be rid of him.

She was not weak. No longer. Never again.

And once she destroyed him, she would at last be completely free of his taint, of **him** and his lingering, maddening effect on her.

She hissed his name out aloud as curse and challenge and spite combined. One of the last few times she would be forced to invoke **him**.

**  
**"Johnny…"

**  
****The World Within And Without**

**  
****Disclaimer:** Sheo Darren does not own _Guilty Gear_ or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

**Featured Anime:** Coyote Ragtime Show

**  
****Calendar Arc**

**Episode Three**

**  
Counterattack**

**  
**"Johnny…"

April turned to February"Hack into their surveillance systems, February. See if you can find where Johnny is."

The battlefield analysis cyborg's braids bobbed once alongside her head. A green glow bathed her feet as she touched her palm to the floor.

"We'll split up into three teams," April told the rest. "Oct, Nov and Diesse: capture the Mayship's bridge and its crew. February will go with you."

The triplets loudly cheered.

"Do not damage the bridge or kill any of the crew unless needed," April elaborated for the overenthusiastic kindergarteners.

"Yes, April!" They skipped in place, very cute and energetic.

"Sept, take March, May and June. Capture the engine room intact."

"Roger," the soft-spoken meido sniper responded. Her companions responded in their own ways: March's brief nod, a quick smirk from May and June's expressionless agreement.

"January, July, August. You're with me. We will locate Johnny and capture him. Mother wants him alive," April stressed for January's express benefit, "So do not shoot unless I tell you to."

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you…"

Her eldest sister's grumbling concerned her some. January was the first of Marciano's Daughters. Years of wear and tear had substantially degraded her first generation cybernetic matrix. Jan lost her temper all too easily, often went berserk at the slightest provocation and had accuracy that matched her temper. That is, she wouldn't hit the ground if it weren't for gravity.

But the Mayship boasted a formidable fighting complement. April needed the combat power January provided. And January, for all her faults, was a frontline by herself.

Her other sisters were similarly formidable. All of them were cyborgs, superhumanly fast and strong and tough, superior to the older mechanical bodies employed by Section Two and the Bougainvillea Brigade.

The Twelve Daughters were Madame Marcianos' elite executors, the tip of the spear and the cutting edge of cybernetic assassination technology. They had yet to fail a mission. April did not plan to begin now.

_Johnny._ Her target's name angered her. Here was the man who had the temerity to defy Madame Marciano and lived to tell the tale, the man who had caused her mother so much trouble.

_I hope Mother leaves enough of you for me…_

"April?" That was May asking. "I know we're going to capture Johnny alive, but what about the others? I mean the rest of the crew?"

"If they resist, kill them. And if they don't," and April's grin was vicious, "We'll save on bullets by making them jump off their ship."

**  
**John asked the expected rhetorical question: "Is everyone all right?"

"More or less," Akari answered after briefly looking everyone up.

"What's happening?" Jack asked as April helped him up.

"Isn't it obvious?" May almost spat from where she sat– which happened to be a moaning Bridget's back. "We're under attack!"

"May… you're heavy…"

Akari noticed that John held his left arm rather tenderly. "John! You're hurt!"

"I got thrown into a bulkhead during the crash…"

"Let me look at it." She carefully cut open his coat's sleeve with one of her swords. The sight made her wince. "Your arm is badly bruised. I'll put a cold compress on it to reduce the swelling. Get me some ice," she ordered Augus.

"On it, Akari!"

Akari pulled out a bright blue scarf from the inside of her tux's right sleeve. "You won't be able to use your iajitsu stance with just one arm," she told John, "So you'll have to sit this one out."

"Take over for me, then, Akari."

"I hear." They glanced at May. "Any issues with that?" Akari asked almost challengingly.

"Nope." The senior Jellyfish girl had to smile. "You look like you have everything in hand. 'Sides, I'm out of shape for this business."

"You call throwing a giant pink **whale** at me 'out of shape'?" Akari demanded.

"You **deflected** it, didn't you?"

"Humility? From May?" Her best friend's sudden personality change astounded April, as it did everyone else who knew the hitherto bratty girl. "Maybe Bridget did get you pregnant…"

"Feh. Jack will get **you** pregnant first."

"Can we stay on subject here?" Jack huffily demanded while he and Bridget blushed.

Despite the grim situation, everyone chuckled.

"Is there anyone else who is injured?" John asked.

"Me," the squished Bridget volunteered. Everyone else reported themselves fine.

"Good to see that." John activated his Codec. "Octy? What's our status?"

"_The upper hull has taken some damage. All dorsal gun turrets have been destroyed. ECS is down. Engines are all okay."_ The Mayship engineer could have been enumerating trivialities, she spoke so calmly. _"The enemy crash-landed their aircraft on our upper deck. Enemy numbers a dozen."_

"Just twelve?" May harrumphed. "Piece of cake."

"Seal the ship passages," John ordered. "Buy us some time."

"_Already done. Be advised. My sensors detect cybernetic readings on all the attackers."_

"Cyborgs? Twelve cyborgs? Where's Section Two, Childville, the Handsome Men or the Bougainvillea Brigade when we need them?" Jack asked the ceiling.

"It doesn't matter who they are or how many of them are there," Akari coldly told him. She finished binding John's arm. "We'll defeat every one of them."

In another time, she would have said, _we'll kill them all._ She left that as an unspoken, final option. John and company didn't like deaths, even enemy deaths. But if it ever came to that– Akari had killed before. She'd kill again for her new family.

"Anything else you can tell us, Octy?" John asked.

"_The enemy has penetrated into the ship's outer layers. One of them is hacking into our computer systems. They've taken out every surveillance camera they've run across. Their objective is unknown so far."_

"Find out what they're after if you can. Also, patch me in to Febby."

"_Moving on the first, done on the second…"_

"_Captain John?"_ The blond Jellyfish sounded frightened.

"Lock up the bridge, Febby. Set the Mayship on auto pilot. Then get out of there. There are enemies approaching you."

"_But we can hold out–"_

"No! None of you can fight. Lock up and leave **now**. Just make sure we won't crash into a mountain any time soon."

"_Yes, Captain!"_

"Same goes for you, Octy. If the enemy gets near, pull out of the engine room."

"_Understood."_

"Leap, you take Janis, March and April to the escape pod. At the first sign of trouble, eject. The JSSDF will pick you up soon enough. Akari?"

The magician assassin nodded. "The rest of us will go after the enemy," Akari said. "Even if they destroy our cameras, Octy can still track them by tracing the path of the cameras they've destroyed. She can steer us to hit them from behind."

"Sounds good," May approved.

"I'm going," Jack chimed in. "I'm not going to sit on my ass here while you guys hog all the glory." Before anyone could protest, he added, "Don't worry. I'm a crack shot. It comes from growing up in the English countryside as a spoiled and bored rich kid."

"I thought you lost your shotgun somewhere in the Philippines?" May asked.

"Yeah, I did. But I did bring something else."

"This isn't a game," Akari sternly warned. "Our enemies are ruthless killer cyborgs. They won't go down easily, they will keep coming at you, and they will kill you. You will have to kill them to stop them for good. Can you?"

The Brit boy shrugged. "We'll see when the time comes."

"Jack?"

"Yeah, April?"

He'd expected her to protest like in all the movies. She did grab the front of his shirt to pull his face up to hers. Her eyes were worried but also strangely expectant and almost proud. No, not almost. She was definitely proud. Of him.

It kind of made him happy.

"Come back alive and in one piece," April finally said.

He grinned. Saluted, even. "Yes, ma'am!"

"And you?" Akari asked John.

"As my good nurse orders, I will stay out of it."

"Good. I hate to be slowed down, even if it's you."

John smiled faintly at the gruff show of concern.

Octy's unruffled voice intruded once more upon the drama-laden moment. _"Captain John? I've found out the identity of their target."_

**  
**_"There's no one at the bridge, April,"_ February reported.

The dark-haired beauty swore beneath her breath. "Oct, Nov, Diesse, you three search for escape pods or other similar craft."

"_Okay!"_

April switched frequencies. "Sept, how are you doing?"

"_Slow,"_ the sniper reported_. "Heavy defenses encountered."_ April's heightened hearing detected the distinctive barks of Sept's M14. There was a satisfactory explosion. _"Enemy sentry turret destroyed. Proceeding to engine room."_

"Good. Keep an eye out for the enemy."

"_Roger."_

April looked about the empty dining room. January and March's firearms authoritatively covered the two entrances. Meanwhile June checked the contents of the lone plate that still bore food. _Beef,_ April noted as she herself came over. She fingered the meat. _Still-warm. They haven't gone too far._

The meal looked delicious. Full-body cybernetics deprived April of taste. Still, she was able to indulge a brief moment of quasi-hunger before anger overrode it.

_Where did they go?_

**  
**She stared at the immaculately white ceramic seat (Sephy was nothing if not cleanly) with disgust and anger. Disgust at resorting to this extreme measure. Anger at the people who forced her into it. Both emotions burned bright and hot, but slowly, a controlled flame. She was not going to lose her temper over this.

But she **was** going to unload all that violence into her opponents.

_Sorry, Leap. I love your cooking. But this is a matter of life and death._

Flipping her sword so that its killing point aimed away from her, Akari heartlessly rammed its pommel into her gut.

The blow doubled her over the toilet bowl. She managed to grab the basin's smoothly curved edges before retching. Willpower fueled by hatred drove her to keep throwing up until her stomach was empty.

The food was extra weight. It would slow her down.

Accidentally breathing in the reek reminded her of harsher days on the filthy backstreets of the hellhole that was Belfast, Ireland, before Zato-sama and the assassin guild, memories acrid and bitter as the bile polluting her mouth.

A shaky hand fumbled for the flush lever. Water sluiced down the bowl's smooth insides and carried away the awful mess. Cool pine replaced the smell. Still the breath hissed out of her lungs.

"I got my rifle!" Jack announced from outside the bathroom. "Are you done, Akari?"

Gasping, on her knees in an undignified position over the toilet bowl, throat burning in pain while her mismatched eyes burned with anger, Akari swore.

_You bastards are going to fucking pay for making me throw up Leap's cooking._

**  
**_"April, I've found Johnny."_

February's calmly-delivered news got the intended reaction. "Where is he?" April demanded.

"_He's heading towards the main cargo hold."_

_Got you!_

**  
**_"Invitation has been received and accepted. Guests are moving to the party area."_

"Let's greet them, shall we, Captain?"

"Of course, Akari."

**  
**April's team darted through the passage leading to their target like lightning. And there he stood in the very middle of the massive cargo room.

"Johnny!"

The man in the black hat, coat and shades smiled. April bracketed his face squarely between her Luger's gold-plated sights. "Mother wishes to see you," she told him.

"If I go with you," Johnny asked, "Will you leave my crew alone?"

April allowed a smirk to cross her face. "Of course," she lied.

"Then it's settled," Johnny decided aloud.

A girl walked out from behind him. She had dark spiky hair and the strangest eyes: one red, the other blue. She grinned at the Daughters even as the cyborgs leveled their weapons at her.

"Exit stage left," the girl sniggered.

And then she and Johnny disappeared as bullets whizzed through where they had been.

The blast doors behind the Alpha Team clanged shut. April swore. "It's a trap!"

**  
**"First batch of guests are done. May, take the second batch!"

"_Roger."_

John turned to the heavily-breathing Akari. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah… just… tired…" Four teleports in just fifteen minutes, each with someone tagging along, strained her. "Let me… catch my breath… first…"

"All right, then. Rest for a moment. May and the others should be able to handle this for now. Don't push yourself too hard."

"Can that last, **Captain**." Willpower brought her lanky frame ramrod straight. She glared at him. "We either push to the limit, or die. And I'm not good at dying."

"You won't do much good if you arrive there all tired."

Akari growled beneath her breath. "Just a minute, that's all."

"Take your time."

"_Captain?"_ Octy was still bunkered up in Engineering– and inside her big red power suit, for extra safety. _"You're near the bridge, aren't you?"_

"Yes, why?"

**  
**February was rather impressed with the skill of the recently-departed bridge crew and the Mayship's engineering safeguards. The airship was mechanically locked into a hundred-mile-diameter orbit five thousand feet above sea level. Feb's hacking abilities worked on computers and electronics, not old-fashioned hydraulics.

She was physically alone. The triplets were pursuing the bridge crew. She guided everyone through secure radio connections as she hacked into the Mayship's still-resisting surveillance system.

Now she attempted to free April's team from imprisonment. It rankled February a bit that she had led her sisters into a trap. Professional pride and the thought that she had let April down...

The bridge doors clanked open. February looked over her shoulder.

Johnny smiled at her.

Even as she began to react, something roared behind her.

**  
**A hail of steel-tipped darts rang off May's makeshift iron shield. She whistled up a Mister Dolphin Upper to attack her shotgun-toting opponent, an aggressive gray-haired woman who moved with inhuman speed.

The battle was not going as smoothly as planned. May was holding her own, and Bridget was doing better than her, and Jack had drawn the enemy sniper off to a camping duel worthy of Enemy At The Gates. But July and Augus needed to double-team the last cyborg, and even so they were having trouble. And Akari was still nowhere to be found.

_Come on, Akari! We need you!_

A snarl ahead made her brace for battle.

**  
**May could not believe that there were "normal" humans who could wield a two-thousand-pound ship's anchor with just one hand. _She's stronger than even me…_

Nearby, March walked the Minimi's continuous fire after the blond boy riding what appeared to be a pair of flaming yoyos. Her sister's target performed a humanly impossible leap straight up, then twisted in mid-air and threw one of his infernal toy-weapons at her. March blew the transformed karate-kicking teddy bear back with a solid burst of 5.56mm NATO Standard.

June fenced with an eye-patch-wearing pirate girl. Another pirate, a tanned girl who was almost as fast as a cyborg, circled the duelists, looking for an opportunity to strike. May would have fired at the second pirate had not a blue bottlenose dolphin barreled into her, knocking her back.

Sept had disappeared somewhere after that counter-sniper cleanly nailed May on the head. (Fortunately her armor stood up to that surprise test. Getting hit by a large-caliber bullet did not do her temper any good, though.)

_Damn Japanese freaks!_

CLICK

Snarling, May tossed her expended SPAS-12 aside and charged the brown-haired Japanese pirate girl wielding the anchor.

**  
**Jack jacked (how the term made him grin so many times before, though now he was grim as Death) a fresh round into his Arctic Warfare Magnum sniper rifle. _This is getting rather exciting,_ he mentally understated.

They waged a contest of nerves. The first to linger a heartbeat too long in place lost. The loser died.

The winner? Got to live a little longer.

He had never hunted something that could hunt him back. Sure, a tiger or Cape Buffalo could easily turn on him and kill him despite his gun and skill. But they were just animals, though cunning and powerful they might be.

_I'm hunting a human being. A cyborg._

_A girl._

_A killer._

"Let's dansu," Jack whispered.

**  
**Sept didn't quite know what the strange nagging thought at the back of her head was. Certainly it wasn't the killing intent of her surprisingly skillful opponent she sought out, and who stalked her in turn.

_No one has ever been able to give me trouble before…_

She caught herself there, and found her hands clutched her M14 designated marksman's rifle a tad tighter than her wont. Despite herself, she shivered.

_I'm… excited?_

Sept smiled to herself and her target. _It is too bad I will have to kill you- or you me._

**  
**Leap puffed as she and her group pounded down the steel corridor leading to the escape pods. _I'm too old and fat for this kind of adventure!_

Janis the cat led the way. April brought up the rear. In her arms, March gurgled.

"Turn left at the next intersection!" April yelled.

"I know!" Leap returned.

Janis skidded to a halt. The cat's back hairs stood up like so many black spikes. She hissed.

April bounced off the stalled Leap's broad backside. "Ow! Leap! What is it?"

Three identical-looking little girls barred the cook's way. MP-5K SMGs hung on their shoulder. Their beaming faces were terrifyingly innocent.

"Found you!"

**  
**Akari learned about a cyborg's toughness the hard way at the hands of an unstoppable tanned girl with golden pigtails and baby blue eyes once upon a time in Rome, Italy, back with the Assassin Guild. That had been the most brutal battle she'd ever fought, one she didn't want to repeat, ever.

It was easy enough to deduce that her target would be at least as tough as that Section Two cyborg. Her swords wouldn't work. Neither would the rest of her arsenal. Save one item.

The diamond-toothed chainsaw ripped through the ceramic-based (surprises of surprises; Akari expected carbon compound material) armor protecting the cyborg's neck before abruptly stalling upon a titanium spine. Akari gritted her teeth against the ear-rending whine and the resulting shower of red-hot sparks.

_Come on! Go through!_

Her tool responded to her command. The saw tore through titanium vertebra armor. The cyborg's head popped off its shoulder.

_Yes! Take that!_

She gleefully watched the headless body slump against a control panel. Luckily it didn't seem to be capable of operation without a head. _Stay that way,_ Akari mentally ordered.

"Akari?"

"Ask me if I'm okay again, John," she threatened, "And I might forget who you are."

At the Pirate Lord's feet, the cyborg's severed head looked surprised. "John?"

"Yeah," Akari answered for John, "He's John. Not Johnny."

The cyborg's green eyes glowed. "I see," it admitted after a few seconds. "You are correct. He is not Johnny."

"How'd you know?" Akari sarcastically asked.

"My specialty is data gathering and analysis. I accessed Johnny's biological profile and compared it to John. Their profiles are very similar but not 100 percent identical. There are discrepancies in the weight-to-height distribution ratio, musculature, voice..."

"Johnny is my twin brother," John said.

"I see. That would explain the significant similarities." Another significant pause: "Where is Johnny?"

"He's dead. He was killed in a war."

The cyborg digested that. "Why are you pretending to be him?"

"I'm not. I took over this ship to take care of his girls."

"Based on your physiological signature, I determine that you are telling me the truth."

"Then tell your sisters off!" Akari snapped at her.

"I cannot."

The angry Akari made to swing with the chainsaw. The cyborg did not even blink.

John stopped the angry assassin. "What's your name?" he asked the cyborg.

"February."

Akari and John stared. _She's also called February?_

"Who is your commander?" John asked in the most neutral tone he could summon.

"Our Mother, Madame Marciano."

Akari cursed beneath her breath. "Marciano!"

"You know her?" John asked.

"Leader of the Criminal Guild. One of the most dangerous criminals alive. Even Zato-sama was wary of her." The assassin almost spat. She glared at February. "Why are you after us?"

"We were ordered by Mother to capture Johnny."

"Well, she's a couple of years late in the running," Akari mockingly pointed out.

"Who's your immediate leader?" John asked.

"April."

Akari and John exchanged startled glances. "Where is she?"

"She is our team's commander. She has just reinforced our second team."

"Reinforced?" Icy fear washed down Akari's spine. "No!"

**  
**April seethed. Getting out of their improvised prison had been a matter of August squeezing through an air vent leading outside the cargo hold so she could manually unlock the doors. The diminutive grenadier ended up all dusty and complaining about her ruined clothes, her skirt having torn on a jagged piece of metal on the way out.

But now they were free of imprisonment. And very angry.

They made sure to take a pathway that had been earlier cleared of cameras. Now they hovered at the edge of the raging battle, unseen, unexpected.

April gritted her teeth. "Kill them all."

**  
To Be Continued**


End file.
